Only the Beginning
by insanekittie19
Summary: Sequel to A Fresh Start. What happens when Riddick and Jack become first time parents? Will their peaceful lives stay the same or will it turn their whole world upside down?
1. Chapter 1

**Author:** Sandra (Blissdementia on VX; Insanekittie19 on FF)  
><strong>Title:<strong> Only the Beginning  
><strong>Rating:<strong> R for a few curse words here and there; MA for sexual encounters that will eventually take place! All MA chapters are labeled with a warning.  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Riddick  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not own any characters from the movie…sadly! I don't make any money from using them. But any other characters you do not recognize, I own!  
><strong>Summary:<strong> A sequel to A Fresh Start. What happens when Riddick and Jack become first time parents? Will their peaceful lives stay the same or will it turn their whole world upside down?  
><strong>Archive:<strong> Only on VX and FF  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Riddick/Jack  
><strong>Feedback:<strong> Yes please, but only nice feedback!  
><strong>Author's Note:<strong> In my world The Chronicles of Riddick never happened.  
><strong>Author's Note:<strong>This is an add-on to a previous fic called A Fresh Start, but is designed to be read independently. I enjoy getting feedback on all of my previous fics, so feel free to read and leave feedback if you haven't already. Thank you and enjoy!

**Many thanks to my wonderful beta, Evilgrin. Without her I'm not sure what I would do. Any mistakes in the posted chapters are mine.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1:<strong>

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><p>After what felt like a full night's sleep, Jack opened her eyes and to her surprise the clock on the hospital room wall had only moved an hour ahead. Looking over to her right she took in the wonderful sight before her: Riddick sitting in a chair holding their newborn son.<p>

"Is he sleeping?" she asked quietly, not wanting to ruin the picture perfect moment that she saw before her.

Riddick looked up and grinned. "After you managed to feed and burp him he went right off to sleep," he said, walking towards the bed Jack was laying in. "Want to hold him?"

Remembering the pain and discomfort she felt before she went to sleep, Jack did her best to move slowly and carefully into a sitting position. Once she was situated in a comfortable spot she raised her arms up to take the baby from his daddy.

"So do you think the name we picked out fits him?" she asked while running her fingers over his little nose; they hadn't taken into account the possibility of their child having shined eyes.

Riddick moved the chair he had been in closer to Jack's bed and thought back to the night they had finally chosen a name.

_At almost eight months pregnant Jack was starting to become more and more eager to have everything ready for when the baby came. It was no surprise to Riddick when Jack called him while he was on his ship heading back to Urizane._

_"We really need to start picking out names," she told him before taking a bite from her boiled cabbage soup. "The baby might come early and we won't have anything to call it besides, 'baby boy' or 'baby girl'." Early in the pregnancy they both agreed not to find out what they were having. After all, them getting together as a couple and Jack getting pregnant were surprises, so the gender of the baby might as well be a surprise too._

_Riddick chuckled as he showed her the baby book he had picked up for them on the last planet he had been to. "Didn't I promise you we would choose a name when I got home?" he asked and set the book back down onto the console._

_Jack's smile became bigger as she nodded. "You bought us a baby name book, Riddick?" she asked, very touched and happy that he would do something like that for her. "And you did promise me, but I thought that with loading the truck and the ship alone and being gone for almost two whole weeks you might have forgot."_

_"I'd never forget something that would make you happy, Jack!" he told her and then promised to be home within four hours._

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><p><em>That night as they relaxed in bed Jack randomly turned to a page in the book. "What about the name Valentine for a boy?" she asked after pulling a grape sucker from her mouth.<em>

_Riddick was lying beside her as she sat up against the headboard. He ran his hand over her large belly before giving her a serious look. "There's no way in hell I'm letting our kid be named after a holiday!" he went back to rubbing her stomach before he added in, "Try another page."_

_"I was only kidding about that name," she giggled and put her hand over his when he came to the spot where the baby was kicking. "What about Richard? It means brave power."_

_Feeling his child move inside of Jack made his face light up like all the times before. "As much as I wouldn't mind having a son named after me, I can't let him go through life having people ask him if he's related to a famous murderer."_

_Before she could turn to another page Riddick gently snatched the book out of her hands. "Hey, I was looking at that," she giggled and stuck her tongue out at him._

_Riddick pointed his finger at her. "Don't be teaching our child any bad habits," he told her, mocking what she had told him when he had swore while near her belly._

_"You're going to teach it how to swear like a sailor and walk through the house with muddy boots on," she reminded him as she moved to lay down. "So why can't I teach it to stick its tongue out at you?"_

_He shook his head and smirked at her, "Not even going to answer that." Turning to a random page in the book like Jack had, Riddick's eyes scanned the page. "Kayden, it means companion," he stated and handed the book back._

_Jack thought about that for a moment. "Hmm, Kayden Richard Riddick," she said and finally smiled at him. "I love it. So that settles a boy's name, now to move onto finding a girl's name."_

_Riddick sighed. "But remember he will have to go by Kayden Richards if someone asks," he reminded her. He knew he could call on the acquaintance that had_ _made him a new birth certificate to make one with Kayden Richard Riddick on it in the future if Jack wanted it done. "Making decisions about a baby is harder than they make it look in movies," he grumbled and covered his face with a pillow._

Riddick looked at Jack and nodded. "I think Kayden is the perfect name for him," he said as he leaned over to kiss her head. "How are you feeling?" he asked, noticing that she didn't look as pale as she had after having the baby.

"I'm feeling alright, that nap helped a lot," she said while looking down at Kayden. "Did you have to change his diaper yet?" she asked, finally looking up at Riddick.

Grinning, he shook his head, "Nope, but the nurse did say we should check it once he wakes up." Riddick sat back in his chair, running a hand over his unshaven scalp. "She mentioned something about if you don't change him often enough he might soak through the diaper, his clothes and onto either us or the blanket."

At that statement, Jack frowned. "Do you think the diapers we got at home are going to be big enough for him?" she asked. The doctor had told them that he was going to be a big baby, but she still didn't know if the size diapers they bought would be small on him.

He shrugged. "Didn't the weight on them say it was from like eight to fourteen pounds?" he questioned as he tried to remember what size the diapers were. They had purchased a lot of gender neutral items since they didn't know what they were having.

Jack looked back to Kayden as he moved a little in her arms. "I think so. Maybe we can ask the nurse," she suggested, knowing the doctor and nurse said they would try to answer any questions they had before and after leaving the hospital.

After a few moments of the room being silent, Riddick finally spoke. "What do you think about his eyes?" he asked as he watched Jack continue to look at the baby in her arms.

With a sigh, Jack looked over at him. "I don't know if we can find goggles small enough to fit him," she stated.

"From what I noticed I don't think we will have to," he stood up and walked over to the bed. Sitting down on the edge, he faced Jack. "He had his eyes open before in the delivery room and this room. The light didn't seem to bother him," he said with a small shrug.

Jack glanced back at Riddick. "How can that be though? I mean, I still don't understand how a baby can be born with shined eyes simply because his parent does, let alone him being able to see with them in the light."

Riddick didn't have a solid answer for her; he had never heard of it happening before. "The only thing I can think of is because," he looked over his shoulder towards the door and lowered his voice. "Is because I didn't have my eyes shined by a real doctor like the miners do," he told her and watched as Jack thought about his words.

Just then there was a quiet knock on the door. "Come in," Jack said loud enough for whoever it was to hear.

Dr. Weeks came in with a smile on her face. "Glad to see you awake, Jack. How are you feeling?" she asked as she walked to the side of Jack's bed.

Jack nodded and smiled back. "Besides feeling a little sore I actually feel pretty good," she said. "We were just talking about Kayden's eyes," Jack mentioned and looked at the doctor.

The doctor leaned her back against the wall. "That is one reason I came in here. I'll be the first to admit that your son being born with shined eyes is the first case like this that I have come across. And trust me, I have delivered lots of babies whose fathers are miners."

It was Riddick's turn to look at Dr. Weeks. "I'm sure other doctors have delivered babies with eyes like my son's," he said hoping he could convince the doctor to not make a big deal of the situation.

"I have actually called several different doctors that I know on other planets. They all deal with lots of miners and their families; none of them have had this experience," she told them.

Riddick put a hand on Jack's leg that was covered by a blanket. "If that's the case, I don't want my son's name and picture to be in some medical book somewhere," he stated in as nice of a tone as he could muster up.

Jack's eyes moved to look at Riddick's goggles; she could tell that he was making eye contact with her. "We don't really want to make a big deal out of this, Doc. Our main concern is if his eyesight is affected," she said and motioned towards Riddick. "His dad can see in the dark, but has to wear goggles during the day or when he's in a lighted environment."

Nodding again, the doctor smiled. "I'm sure you are wondering if he will be able to see at night since he seems to be fine with lights. Am I right?" she asked.

Before Jack could speak, Riddick did, "Yeah. And is there any way to tell if being able to see in the light with shined eyes will affect his overall vision later in life?"

Jack smiled at Riddick and placed her hand over his.

"When Kayden wakes up, I would like to do a little experiment with him," she said and saw the concerned look on Riddick's face. "When I say experiment, I mean I would like to make this room as dark as we can get it and see if he will move his eyes to look at an object," the doctor told them.

Jack looked a little confused. "I know I'm a first time mom and I'm not a doctor, but I read lots of books and stuff about babies. All of the books said that new born babies can't track things, like a toy, with their eyes until they are around three months. How will we know if he can actually see the object that you have?" she asked as she adjusted Kayden in her arms.

Riddick grinned; he loved Jack for so many reasons; one of those reasons was her way of not being afraid to ask questions.

Continuing to smile, Dr. Weeks responded to Jack's question, "We have an excellent optometrist who works here at the hospital and he specializes in children." She paused and looked at Riddick. "I was also wondering if I could run some lab work on your DNA to see if there is some gene that you carry that will make any of your future children have shined eyes as well."

Glancing at Jack and then back to the doctor, Riddick spoke. "Let me think about it and I'll let you know," he said before looking at the baby as he started to whimper.

Excusing herself, Dr. Weeks left the room. Jack took that chance to shake her head at Riddick. "You can't give them your DNA," she carefully moved Kayden to her shoulder and rubbed his back. "If your DNA gets out and someone smart gets a hold of it, there's a huge chance everyone will connect your name with the DNA and they will know you are still alive," she whispered, suddenly just wanting to take her family home.

Riddick nodded. "Only way I would give them my blood is if it dealt with keeping our son alive," he told her as he moved across the room to get a new diaper in case the baby needed it.

Sighing, Jack nodded. "If we do have more kids, I don't care if they have shined eyes like you. I just want to make sure that his eyes are healthy," she said as she laid the quiet baby down onto the bed.

"I know, that's all that I want too." When he came back with the fresh diaper and wipes he kissed Jack's head before sitting in the chair. Leaning over the bed he talked quietly to his son and placed small kisses on his bald head.

Jack smiled and unsnapped his white onesie. "You remember how the nurse showed us to change him?" she questioned as she opened the fresh diaper to get it ready.

Riddick shook his head, "I wasn't paying attention when she was showing us. I was too worried about why he was crying like that."

Giggling, Jack looked down at Kayden. "I have a feeling your daddy is going to be more protective of you then he has ever been of me," she winked at Riddick since she was only teasing him.

Watching Jack change the diaper made Riddick think. "Since I'm the protective one, you are always going to be the one that changes the smelly ones," he said with a smirk and gestured towards the diaper.

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><p><strong>Sorry it took so long to post this first chapter, but real life kicked my butt for the longest time. Hopefully now I'm back on track and can post a chapter a week. As always I'm addicted to feedback.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

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><p>The next day Jack finally convinced Riddick to let the optometrist, Dr. Grove, take a look at Kayden's eyes. Riddick wasn't too thrilled, but he agreed to go along with it since the doctor said they could be in the room with their son.<p>

Shutting the blinds in Jack's room, Dr. Grove smiled at Riddick and Jack. "Please lay Kayden on the bed," he told Jack.

Jack nodded and put him down. "He looks so small compared to that big bed," she commented with a smile towards Riddick, who was standing across the room; when she got a small forced smile in return she turned her attention back to waiting quietly near their son.

Dr. Weeks, Jack's regular doctor, stood by the light switch. "I'm going to turn these lights off so that the room is completely dark. Dr. Grove will be checking out Kayden's eye movements," she informed Jack and Riddick as she reached for the switch. "Dr. Grove, are you ready?"

"Yes," the second doctor said as he turned on his night vision goggles.

As the room was plunged into darkness Riddick swiftly moved his goggles to the top of his head and watched his son. Kayden blinked a few times before his fingers opened and closed in the darkness. Riddick could see Dr. Grove place a rattle in the baby's line of sight. A smirk formed on Riddick's face as he was sure that his son locked his eyes onto the rattle when it moved just a tad bit to the side.

His smirk quickly went away and he couldn't stop from tensing up as Dr. Grove pulled out a tool and moved it towards Kayden. "What's that for?" Riddick asked into the quiet room.

The male doctor didn't stop looking into Kayden's eyes as he responded. "This tool allows me to check for cataracts, glaucoma and other abnormalities inside of his eyes."

When Kayden started to fuss, the doctor pulled his tool back and told Dr. Weeks to turn the lights back on. Riddick closed his eyes and slipped his goggles on as the room became bright again.

Jack picked up the crying baby and held him in her arms. "What did you see?" she asked as she sat back on the bed.

"His vision seems perfect for a child with shined eyes. I don't see anything wrong with them and he is able to see in the dark," Dr. Grove said as he looked at Riddick. "At his six month check up, as all babies do, we will check his eyes again just to see if there have been any changes."

Grinning, Jack looked at Riddick. "That's great news," she said, knowing it would put both of their minds at ease.

"So can I take my family home now?" Riddick asked the doctors.

Dr. Weeks smiled and nodded. "Yes you can, Jack already has her discharge papers and has made an appointment for next week for both her and the baby," she said as she opened the door again.

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><p>Earlier in the morning Riddick had gone home to let Cole outside for a few minutes while he put the horses out for the day. He had brought home the flowers that he had gotten for Jack and a few other things at that time. Now, he pulled their truck up near the hospital entrance and jumped out to help Jack get in.<p>

The nurse had wheeled Jack and Kayden out in a wheelchair like they did for all new mothers, Riddick carefully held onto his son as Jack slowly climbed into the truck. "Thank you," he told the nurse as she offered them congratulations once again.

Once the baby was fastened into his car seat, Riddick gave Jack a kiss before shutting her door and going to get into the driver's seat. "Got him strapped in properly?" he questioned, wanting to make sure Kayden was going to be safe before putting the truck into drive.

Jack nodded with a smile. She looked down at the car seat that was facing the back of the truck. "We are both ready to go," she told him. "It's going to be nice being home with Kayden."

Riddick smiled. "That and I know Cole misses you," he said since the dog made it a point to sniff around the truck, looking for Jack, every time Riddick went home to let him outside. "Have any ideas of what you want me to make you for dinner?" he asked as he turned onto the road that would lead them back to their small town. "Maybe I can stop and get you an olive burger from the bar," Riddick suggested, since he knew how much she craved those while pregnant.

Shaking her head, Jack giggled. "I think I ate enough of those to last me a life time," she smiled at Riddick. "I'm willing to pick up something or even let you cook for me," she said before she yawned.

"You're going to 'let' me cook for you?" he questioned with a smirk. When Jack looked over at him and nodded her head, he playfully rolled his eyes like she did. "From what I remember, I own the kitchen too, so you don't let me do anything," he teased.

Looking down at Kayden, who was sleeping, she smiled. "Let me rephrase that, I'll let you use my pots and pans to cook for me," she giggled.

Sighing, Riddick continued to drive. "Better watch it or you will be letting me make you homemade olive burgers," he chuckled quietly.

After about twenty minutes of quiet conversation and some comfortable silence Riddick pulled up to their favorite pizza place in their town, MD's Pizza. Riddick went inside to get some food. Only a short time later he came out with a medium pepperoni pizza, a large chef salad, two bottles of pop and a ham and cheese sub sandwich.

"Marie said next time I come in there I better have you and the baby with me or she's kicking me out before I can order," he laughed as he handed Jack the food to hold while he drove.

Jack smiled as she spoke, "Marie once told me she hired all those big guys to work in the kitchen so if any trouble came she would have protection, but I do believe she could handle herself if she needed to."

Riddick agreed with Jack. "Hell yeah, if she's going to threaten to take me on then you know she's not afraid. After all she's half the size of me," he said with a smile as he turned down the dirt road leading to their house.

"That's right. Oh and you owe five credits to the swearing jar," she told Riddick. The swearing jar was an idea she had come up with. They both agreed that swearing wasn't something they wanted their child growing up around; all the money they had to put into the jar would be used to do things with him once he became older.

He looked at her. "For what?" he questioned.

Jack looked back at him, "Because you said 'hell' in Kayden's presence."

Chuckling, Riddick nodded. "I know and now you owe five credits to the swearing jar too."

Gasping, Jack shook her head. "That's not very nice to trick the mother of your child," she said while smiling at him.

"Well, it's not very nice to make the father of your child put money into a jar," he told her with a wink as he reached over top of the car seat for her hand.

As soon as they were home Riddick helped Jack out of the truck before he took Kayden's car seat out as well. In one hand he carried the car seat and in the other hand he had the diaper bag. He smiled as Jack unlocked the door and carried the food and drinks inside.

Immediately Cole was at Jack's side wanting her to pet him. Jack laughed and continued to walk into the kitchen. "Come on, boy, let me free up my hands and I'll pay attention to you," she told him as she sat the food on the table.

Riddick put the diaper bag on the floor and the car seat on the couch so he could take the baby out of it. When Jack sat down on the other end of the couch Cole was sitting by her feet. "I didn't get this much attention when I came home the first time," Riddick mentioned as he watched how much the dog had missed Jack.

"That's only because you weren't gone as long as I was," she giggled. "Because you know he acts like this when you come home from being gone a week or more."

As Riddick picked the baby up Cole finally looked over and took notice of what had come into the house with them. Walking around the coffee table, his tail wagging the whole time, Cole stuck his nose up closer to the small bundle in Riddick's large arms.

Jack moved the car seat and sat down closer to Riddick. "That's Kayden, he lives here with us now," she told Cole as she petted his head. "Gentle," she said as she moved Cole's nose away from Kayden's diaper. "Be gentle," Jack repeated. Cole did know what that word meant since he learned it from being too rough with things as a puppy.

"Think he's going to be protective over Kayden like he is of us?" Riddick asked as he looked down at Cole, who was now sniffing the baby's head.

Shrugging, Jack stood up. "I hope so. I kind of hope that Cole will be a big teddy bear with Kayden as he grows into his toddler years," she said with a smile. "You know, like let Kayden give him big hugs and use him as a pillow and stuff."

Riddick stood up as well and moved over to the swing they had bought for their son. "So you mean, you would like Cole to be very gentle and not really care what Kayden does to him?" he asked as he bent over to figure out how the buckles to the seat belt went together.

Jack nodded. "Yeah like that. I'm sure Cole will be that way, because he's so laid back as it is, but it would be nice if Kayden and Cole were like buddies I guess." She sighed, "Never mind, I don't know how to explain it right," she said as she turned to walk into the kitchen.

After he had Kayden buckled in and started the swing on the lowest setting, Riddick followed Jack into the kitchen. "Hey, it's alright," he said as he gently hugged her from behind. "I understand what you were saying. Let's just eat and get settled in for a nap, because we both need some sleep," he told her before kissing her neck and moving to get them some plates.

While at the hospital Jack had spent most of the first night in labor. The second day and night Jack got as much sleep as she could, but Riddick was too busy worrying about not only Jack but his new son as well. When the nurses insisted on putting Kayden down in the nursery so both mother and son could rest, Riddick spent most of his time going back and forth from Jack's room to the big nursery window to check on his son.

He figured that once he got his family home his nerves would calm down, but so far it wasn't working. "Wanna eat in the living room?" Riddick asked just as Jack sat down at the table to eat.

"No, I think I would like to eat in here. I hated having to eat sitting up in the bed all the time," she giggled and noticed how Riddick kept glancing out at the slowly rocking swing. "He's okay, hun," she told him.

Riddick looked back at her and nodded. "I know, just worried that I didn't buckle him in right," he said before taking a bite of his sub sandwich.

Jack smiled while putting dressing on her salad. "I heard the clicks of the buckles, so I'm sure you did just fine," she mentioned.

After a few minutes of them eating while listening to the swings motor, Riddick broke the silence. "You nervous about us being alone with Kayden?" he asked her as he got himself another slice of pizza.

She took another bite from her salad and thought about his question. "I don't think I'm nervous, I think I'm more anxious to see how we will do without a nurse there to walk us through certain things." She watched him nod before she spoke again, "Are you nervous?" she questioned even though she couldn't remember a time when he had been nervous about something.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Jack. I have a feeling I'm going to screw this up," he stated as he put the top back onto his pop.

Frowning, Jack got up and walked around the table; she motioned for him to slide his chair back a little. When he did she sat down on his lap and kissed his lips. "You aren't going to screw anything up," she tried to reassure him. "We are both new to this so we will both make mistakes, but we will learn from them and get better at it."

Riddick gently wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his forehead against hers. "How can you be so calm about this when you yourself said you've never had any type of experience with a baby or young child before?" he asked quietly.

Jack closed her eyes as she started to speak, "Because whether we are prepared for this or not, Kayden is here and he needs us to take care of him. We don't have time to be scared we just have to do the best that we can."

Lifting his head up, he nodded. "You're right. But if I do something that emotionally scars the kid for life, you can't hate me for it," he said with a smirk.

She giggled and kissed his lips. "I promise I won't hate you, maybe make you sleep out in the barn, but I won't hate you!" she said with a big smile.

"Deal," he agreed and they both looked towards the living room as Kayden began to make small crying sounds.

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><p>By eight thirty that night Jack and Riddick had Kayden sleeping so they decided to turn in as well.<p>

Lying on her side, Jack was happy to finally have Riddick's body pressed up against her back and his arms around her again. "I missed you sleeping in bed with me," she told him quietly; not wanting to wake the baby who was sleeping a few feet away in a hand made wooden bassinet that Riddick had made for him.

Riddick smiled and whispered into her ear, "It was only two nights, baby, but I agree with you." Laying a light kiss on her neck, he laid his head down with a yawn.

It seemed as if they had only been sleeping a few minutes when Kayden woke them up with his soft cries. Riddick looked at the clock and groaned at the time. "Have we really been sleeping almost two hours?" he asked as Jack turned on the small lamp that was on her dresser.

"Yes," she said with a small yawn. "It doesn't seem like it, does it?" Jack asked while picking the baby up and cuddling him to her chest. "Shh, it's okay. I bet you are wet and hungry."

Kayden continued to fuss, but not as much since his mommy picked him up.

Riddick sat up in bed and yawned. "Nah, I'm not wet or hungry, but thanks for the concern," he chuckled quietly as Jack smiled at him and shook her head.

"You better not be wet, because I love you a lot, but I'm not changing your wet pants," she giggled and laid the baby on the bed in front of her. "You want to try changing his diaper again?" she asked since he had tried it once and gave up half way through.

Shaking his head, he moved so that he was lying down next to Kayden; his head propped up on his hand. "You're faster at it and it has been about three hours since he last ate," Riddick said, basically using those excuses to get out of doing something he couldn't do.

Jack unbuttoned the baby's one piece pajamas. "You won't learn how to do it, if you don't keep trying," she commented before changing the very wet diaper. After she had managed to get the diaper changed and his buttons snapped again she smiled at how quiet Kayden was as his and his daddy's silver eyes connected in the dim light. "Since he's okay for a minute I'm going to use the bathroom before I feed him."

Riddick nodded and spoke very quietly, "Sounds good, hun."

A couple of minutes later Jack came out of the bathroom and smiled seeing Riddick leaned back against the head board. Even though Kayden weighed over nine pounds at birth he looked so little when he was held by Riddick. Jack loved the fact that both father and son always seemed so mesmerized by each other.

"Am I interrupting your male bonding time?" she asked softly as she climbed back into bed.

"Actually, I was just telling him about this wonderful woman I know and love," he grinned at Jack. "Turns out he knows you too," he said as he leaned over a little to kiss her.

Jack kissed him back before getting into a comfortable sitting position. "He told you that, huh?" she asked. "Did he tell you that he and I both know this gorgeous man who is turning out to be a great dad even though he said he was going to mess his son's life up?"

Riddick shrugged before passing Kayden to her so that she could start to nurse him. "It's only day two, give it time," he winked and watched as his son started to eat.

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><p>Two days later Riddick sat on the bed trying to change Kayden's diaper. "Okay, let me try this again," he said as he got another clean diaper out. "You would think they would make the tape on these things industrial strength," Riddick mumbled to his son after he had ripped the tape off one diaper as he tried to put it on Kayden.<p>

Jack was just getting out of the shower when she heard Riddick call out to her.

"I give up; I can't do this, Jack!"

Jack smiled into the mirror while brushing her hair. "Yes you can, baby. Just go slow and be gentle," she yelled back through the closed door.

"If I keep this up we will have to go get more diapers tonight," he said loudly and in an aggravated tone.

Kayden lay naked looking up at his daddy. Riddick let out a growl as the second diaper's tape came off in his hand. Kayden's eyes became huge with surprise.

Riddick knew he had growled too loudly as soon as he saw the look on the baby's face. "Sorry," he said quietly and waited for Kayden to start crying. When the little eyes went back to normal size, Riddick sighed. "Guess I'm not so scary, huh?" he asked while finally getting a diaper on, on the third try.

Coming out of the bathroom, Jack smiled as she saw the two broken diapers lying on the floor. She walked over to Riddick and kissed his head. "I think you did a wonderful job."

He smirked, "You are only saying that so I'll offer to change him again." He had mastered putting clothes on Kayden so he started to do that. "Since when do you get dressed in the bathroom?" he finally questioned Jack.

Jack looked up from putting her walking shoes on. "Since I'm no longer pregnant and have almost thirty extra pounds hanging around," she stated. "Are you going to the market with us?" Jack asked, trying to change the subject; something she picked up from Riddick.

He nodded before he spoke, "Yes, but don't change the subject." Picking Kayden up, Riddick walked over and laid him in his bassinet for a few minutes. "You do realize that I think you are hot no matter what you weigh, right?"

Sighing, she stood up before making sure her watch band was tight enough on her wrist. "Why is it that you had me get this watch again?" she asked as she deliberately avoided answering his question.

Making a soft grunting noise, Riddick stepped in Jack's direction.

Quickly moving away from him, she giggled. "We need to get to the market before the good stuff is gone," she told him, holding her hands out to keep him away from her.

He smirked, "Then I guess you better answer my question or we will be here all day."

Jack felt her back hit the wall and she moaned a little.

Groaning with her, Riddick placed his hands on either side of her head. "Would love to, but we will have about thirty eight days before we can do that, Jack," he whispered in his deep sexy voice that Jack loved.

"You're counting down?" she asked, looking up into his deep silver eyes.

Riddick nodded. "And dreaming about it at night, baby." His breath felt hot against her face as he leaned down to kiss her. "I meant what I said about you being hot," he said, before kissing her lips again.

Jack felt his lips brush against her jaw. "Really?" she questioned, exposing her neck to him, inviting him to lower his mouth where she wanted to feel it.

"Hot, beautiful," he paused to give her neck a warm kiss. "Sexy," Riddick sucked gently on her soft skin. "You could be two hundred pounds and you would still be mine," he whispered into her neck.

"What if I was two hundred and two pounds?" she asked, already panting a little.

Riddick chuckled, "Even better." He moved back to see her face. "There's no reason I would ever stop loving you. You weighing a little more now is sexy as hell to me, because you gained that from carrying my son," he told her.

Nodding, she placed her hands on his waist. "I know you mean that, but I still don't like it. So as soon as the doctor says I can we are going back to working out together. Until then it's going to be a lot of walking for me."

He nodded his approval. "Anything to make you happy," he said just as Kayden let them know he was still in the room by fussing. "Oh and I made you get the watch because it has a built in light and alarm," he mentioned as he moved away from her to get Kayden ready to go.

She giggled, since she had already known his answer.

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><p>At the market Riddick opened the stroller as Jack got Kayden out of his car seat. Jack had picked this particular stroller because it had two large wheels in the back and one wheel in the front. The sales lady at the store said it was great for walking through dirt and less likely to get stuck places.<p>

"Want me to push him?" Jack asked once Kayden was buckled in and laying down sleeping.

Shaking his head, Riddick started to push it. "Nah, you get the stuff you want and I'll push him," he told her as they entered the first row of vendors.

A moment or so after looking at the first selection of vegetables Jack got the feeling of someone watching her. She glanced up and noticed people looking at them; she did her best to ignore the looks, but couldn't help fidgeting with the baggy shirt she was wearing as she continued to look for produce to buy.

"They aren't looking at us, Jack. They are checking Kayden out," Riddick whispered into her ear.

_When had he gotten so close to me? _She asked herself before nodding and smiling at him.

A few minutes later, Jack turned to ask Riddick if he wanted some acorn squash. It was then that she noticed a couple of unmarried women checking Riddick's ass out as he leaned over the handle of the stroller; other people smiling and whispering was something Jack didn't like when it came to her Riddick. Jack made it a point to step next to Riddick while glaring at the women. When that didn't seem to hinder the giggles, she placed her hand on his ass, just below where a belt would go. This gesture combined with a possessive scowl encouraged the women to hurry on their way.

Riddick looked up at Jack, wondering why her hand was on his ass. He saw the look on her face and turned his attention to the two women practically knocking shoppers down as they moved through the row of vendors. He raised his eyebrow as he silently questioned Jack.

Shrugging, she held out her hand for some money to buy the squash that she hadn't had a chance to ask Riddick about. "What?" she asked innocently before giving him a small smile. "Don't think you are the only one that can be protective of what's yours."

He stood up straight and reached for his wallet. "Might have to change your name from Mommy Jack to Mama Bear," he chuckled and handed her some credits.

She took the money and kissed his lips. "I should start making you wear a shirt that says, 'Taken: Don't touch'. Maybe then they wouldn't think they had a chance with you."

"If you are going to make me wear something, then at least be romantic enough to buy me a ring," he said while giving her a wink.

Jack looked at him for a moment, honestly not sure if he was joking or being serious. Not being able to think of a come back, she shrugged and turned her back to him so she could pay.

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><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>

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><p><strong>I want to thank those that left me feedback. I would also like to thank everyone that added this story to their alerts AND to their favorites! That makes me feel good about the story so far. But please feel free to leave me feedback telling me what you like about the chapters. I'm a feedback junkie! lol<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

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><p><strong>This chapter is rated MA for adult situations. If you are not 18 or do not care for sexual acts of Riddick goodness, then please skip this chapter and come back for chapter four.<strong>

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><p>Thirty nine days later Riddick sat impatiently outside on the front porch when Jack pulled into the driveway. Placing the baby monitor onto the bench beside him, Riddick moved to greet Jack as she stepped out of the truck. "Well?" he asked, wondering what the doctor said at Jack's appointment.<p>

Jack smiled. "She said that I've lost eight pounds in six weeks and can go back to working out normally," she happily told him.

Grinning, Riddick kissed her lips. "That's great, all of that walking and us eating healthier is paying off," he told her. "I'm very proud of you, baby. Now what about everything else?" he questioned as he gestured towards her stomach area.

"Seems as though I'm healed and can start having sex again," she giggled as he cupped her ass and picked her up.

Her ass was something that had became slightly larger while she was pregnant and he hoped it wouldn't go back to its normal size once she lost all the weight; he loved it being bigger and rounder.

"Perfect! Kayden is napping so let's get busy," he mumbled while he playfully kissed her neck.

Jack laughed as he carried her up the steps to the porch. "Wait a minute," she said with a smile. "There are a couple things we need to discuss first."

Groaning, he put her down. "I hate discussing things. Last time you said that, I realized you were pregnant."

_Three weeks after coming home from their vacation, Riddick unlocked the front door and smiled as he smelled Jack's wonderful cooking. "Baby, I'm home!" he called out after being gone for a week on a very profitable emergency shipment._

_She stepped into the doorway of the kitchen, grinning. "Welcome home. Dinner's almost ready," she told him as she made no effort to go greet him at the door._

_Dropping his bag on the floor, he cocked his head to the side. "Don't tell me you didn't miss me," he stated as he watched the smile slip from her face._

_"I did miss you," she bit her lip, "But we need to discuss something before dinner." Jack leaned her shoulder against the door frame._

_Inhaling a deep breath for a sigh, Riddick suddenly picked up on Jack's scent. It seemed much stronger than when he had left. He had noticed a change in her pheromones about a week after they came back from their vacation, but figured it was her monthly getting ready to start. "You're pregnant, aren't you?" he asked; it finally dawned on him that this wasn't an aroma he had smelled on her before._

_Jack's eyes slipped from his and found a spot on the floor. She hesitated for a long time before she spoke, "I think I am. My period is late this time and I felt sick to my stomach the last three mornings."_

_Riddick wanted to move over to her, but for some reason his feet wouldn't follow his brains' instructions. "You're pregnant," he stated; this time not asking, but reassuring her suspicions._

_"I know we didn't plan this and I'm not even sure how it happened since I was careful to get my shot on time every time. Well, I do think I know how it happened, but I just..." she stopped her sentence. Although Jack had told herself that Riddick wouldn't be mad at her for this, because it wasn't only her fault, she was still worried about what he would think about them having a kid. When Riddick didn't say or do anything she looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Riddick," she whispered, thinking he truly was mad._

_Before she could say anymore, Riddick was walking towards her. He cupped her face and made her look into his eyes. "Don't you dare say sorry for this," he told her. "Like you said, we didn't plan this, but that's fine." He passionately kissed her lips, trying to show her that this news didn't change the way he felt for her. "Shit happen," he told her. "Isn't that what you once told me? 'Things happen that we don't have a reason for…'"_

_Jack put her hands on his arms. "'But we just deal with them and move on,'" she said, finishing what she had told him. "So we can keep the baby?" she asked, feeling relief wash over her._

_Riddick thought about what she had said for a brief moment. "Hell yeah, we're keeping it," he said as he placed a hand over her still very flat stomach. "There's no reason that we wouldn't."_

_The grin she had greeted him with came back as she wrapped her arms around his neck to hug him. "It had to have been swimming in the falls, Riddick. Right?" she asked as she started to cry lightly onto his shoulder._

_He nodded while chuckling. "I guess this must be our new beginning," he commented when he picked her up and hugged her more. "And those better be happy tears that are drenching my shirt, Jack!'_

_While still off the ground she pulled her head back and nodded. "Very happy tears."_

Sitting down on the wooden bench, she smiled, "Well I can promise you that I'm not pregnant."

"Better not be," he joked with a wink. "So what do we need to discuss?" he asked, leaning back against the railing in front of her.

"Since I'm still nursing Kayden, I can't use birth control yet," she said.

Riddick nodded and shrugged a little. "So we will just use condoms again until you aren't nursing," he said and motioned towards the door. "Can we go play now?"

Shaking her head, she giggled at his playful eagerness. "What happens if the condom breaks?"

He thought about that before he moved over and sat next to her. "I guess that is just a chance we will have to take if you want to nurse Kayden and we have sex," he told her.

"What will we do if I get pregnant again, Riddick?" she asked as she looked out to where Cole was sleeping in the sun. "It's not that I don't want to have another baby; I just can't imagine not being able to give Kayden the extra attention that he deserves right now."

Looking over at her he nodded. "I was kind of thinking the same thing," he said as he picked her hand up and kissed the back of it. "I'm willing to do anything you want to do," Riddick reassured her.

Jack smiled. "I talked to the doctor and she gave me some formula to try with him in case we decided that I should go back on the shot."

Riddick raised an eyebrow in her direction. "So you are saying you want to stop nursing him so that we can be protected?"

"If you agree to it, yes that's what I'm saying," she nodded while she spoke.

They looked at each other for a brief moment before Riddick responded. "I will only agree to it if it's what you really want. I remember you telling me how those baby books you read said that nursing was better than formula," he paused and looked out across the front yard. "You don't want to switch him to formula and go on the shot just because I've been counting down, right?" he looked back at her when he finished talking.

Jack shook her head. "No." She frowned. "It is better for him but he's been nursing for six weeks, the doctor agreed that it's fine to switch him; as long as he will take the bottle," she leaned against his shoulder. "And I don't want to do this because of your count down. We have been teasing each other so much lately and I want us to be free to have sex when the mood hits us." Jack giggled, "Besides I had gotten used to you staying with me when we started fooling around instead of you running off to look for a condom."

Riddick laughed. "Who would have thought that I would have been compared to a chicken with its head cut off?" he joked.

Laughing with him, she nodded. "I swear that one time you couldn't find the box of rubbers that's what you looked like," she said while grinning.

He chuckled, but knew that the formula conversation would need to be discussed a little more.

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><p>Later that night Jack and Riddick lay in bed together, casually making out. Jack was on her back with Riddick lying partially on top of her; his hand roamed freely down her body before stopping to feel her smooth outer thigh. They had done this a lot since Kayden was born, but tonight felt different; maybe because they both knew they could take it all the way if they chose to.<p>

"Are we gonna do this, Jack?" he asked breathlessly against her neck; his erection pushed against her hip.

Jack moaned as her eyes closed and one hand reached across her body to rest on the back of his head. "Yes, Riddick," she whispered.

Riddick pressed his body more against hers. "What do you want or need, Jack?" he mumbled in between nibbles on her neck.

"You, I want and need you," she told him before turning her head to capture his mouth with hers.

Groaning into the kiss, Riddick moved his hand up under her nightgown and could already smell her arousal. "Fuck. Do you know how crazy you drive me?" he asked in between kisses.

"Shh," she panted, "We can't be too loud."

He wasn't sure after not having her hot, wet pussy for over three months, if he could be quiet. "Can't, Jack. It's gonna be too difficult to do that," he honestly told her as he went back to nibbling and sucking on her exposed collar bone.

Jack stilled her movements for a moment. "Maybe we shouldn't do this with him in the room," she sounded serious. "What if you do your loud growl and it scares him awake?"

Pulling back, he looked at her in the dark room. "We could put him in the nursery until we are done," he suggested, but wasn't sure if she would go for it; this would be the first time that Kayden wouldn't be sleeping in the same room as them.

While feeling his heat and hardness pressed up against her leg she shrugged. "Do you think he will be okay?"

Nodding, he smiled. "I'll plug in the monitor so we can hear him. If he starts to cry we'll stop right away and get him." _Please don't let him cry, _he thought.

As soon as she nodded in agreement, Riddick was up to get the baby monitor. His erection was very noticeable as it made a tent in his shorts.

She got out of bed as well, carefully picked the sleeping baby up and followed Riddick down the hallway. Riddick quietly plugged in the monitor and turned it on while Jack laid the baby in his crib.

After he had everything set up, he turned and watched Jack as she looked down into the crib. As much as he wanted to pick her up and carry her back to their bed, he could tell she was having a hard time leaving the crib.

Moving behind her he wrapped his arms around her waist. "We can bring him right back to our room as soon as you want," he whispered.

She nodded and turned in his arms. "It's not that," she said quietly.

"Then what's wrong?" Riddick whispered against the top of her head.

Jack looked up. "I can't believe he's already six weeks old. Time is just going so fast," she said with a sigh.

He smiled as he moved his hands to cup her face. "Don't think of it as he's getting too big, just think of it as," he paused. "Just think of it as we get to experience everything with him sooner," he smiled.

"Everything like what?" she asked while slipping her hands into his.

Slowly walking backwards, Riddick pulled Jack with him out into the hallway. Over her shoulder Riddick could see Cole making himself comfortable on the small blue area rug in front of the crib. "Like him sitting up and crawling," he said quietly while he continued to walk backwards down the hallway.

Jack smiled in the darkness. "Don't forget standing and walking," she told him as she allowed Riddick to guide her into their bedroom.

He chuckled, "Yes and my personal favorite goal for him: to be potty trained."

Giggling, she felt him pull her close to his body. "Because we both know how much you hate changing diapers," she added.

Riddick kissed her neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist to cup her ass. "Only the shitty ones," he mentioned and ended their conversation by pressing his lips to hers.

"Where were we?" she asked as she broke the kiss so that she could lay kisses on his neck and bare shoulders.

He groaned feeling his cock come to life again. "You were begging me to make love to you," he groaned again as her hand slipped into his pants.

Letting out a small giggle, Jack began to stroke his hardness. "Don't remember begging, but I can if that will help you get off."

Riddick felt her hand tighten around him and he shook his head. "No begging needed, just need your body, baby," he told her, reaching for the bottom of her nightgown.

In the last couple months of her pregnancy, Jack was still craving sex; even more so than when they first got together, but they found that no matter what position they tried it was too painful for her. Jack had insisted on helping Riddick in other ways: using her hand while they were in the shower, evening blow jobs before bed and his favorite of waking up to her massaging his balls while telling him everything she wanted him to do to her.

Jack could tell Riddick was happy by the way he smirked and growled as he tossed her nightgown to the floor. She bit her lip and suddenly felt like it was their first time all over again. As she crawled onto the bed she looked over her shoulder. "Be gentle," she stated.

"Mmm," he moaned while watching her ass move, but the look on his face told her he would never dream of hurting her. His pants were off in two seconds and he was already reaching into the drawer for a condom. "I love you, Jack."

Lying on her back she nodded. "I love you too," she smiled. "Come on big boy," she said with a giggle as he growled at her sexy voice.

"I'm gonna cum alright," he told her before he nipped at her inner thighs. "Gonna make you cum several times before I do though."

Before Jack could respond Riddick's fingers had already found her neglected bud. She opened her legs more as her large breasts arched up in pleasure. As much as she loved his fingers rubbing circles she reached her hands down to his head. "Please, Riddick," she begged, "Use your mouth." It was something that she missed a lot.

Riddick was happy to oblige. "Anything for you," he mumbled; he dipped his head down and pressed his tongue against her clit. Gently he inserted two fingers into her very wet canal and within moments he felt her walls start to tighten as her whole body seemed to convulse against the bed.

"Oh God, yes!" she yelled as her first climax in three months rolled through her body. While she still seemed to be in an orgasmic haze she felt Riddick move on the bed. "Riddick, I need to feel you," she whispered afraid her voice wouldn't work at a higher pitch.

He finished rolling the condom on and positioned himself between her legs. "I know, baby. Just relax," he encouraged. "You're still so fucking tight I don't want to hurt you," he placed the head of his large cock against her entrance.

Doing as she was told, she reached up and pulled him down for a kiss. As their tongues mated again Riddick slowly pushed into her and her legs instinctively went around his waist. It felt like her body arched up to meet his.

Staying still, he looked into her eyes. "Okay?" he asked, his mind unable to think of anymore words to use. After all this time and after birthing his ten pound son, she still fit him like a glove.

Jack nodded, giving him her permission to start moving again.

They both moaned as he started a slow, but steady rhythm. He kept his eyes on her face in case it became painful for her. When she finally opened her eyes he smiled down at her. "I've missed how you feel around me," he whispered, not wanting to break the calmness that surrounded them.

Reaching up, Jack ran one hand across his cheek. "Come here," she said and kissed him passionately when he bent down.

After long minutes of them enjoying the slow and romantic feeling of Riddick's gentle thrusts, he finally unlocked her legs from around his waist. Moving more onto his knees, he reached between them and rubbed her clit once again.

Between his thrusts and fingers working together, Jack was already feeling the pressure in her lower stomach building. "Please, don't stop," she pleaded.

"Never," he groaned as he felt the familiar twinges of her orgasm building. "Give it up, Jack. Let me feel it," he told her; his fingers never stopping while her clit engorged and hardened as a second more powerful orgasm washed through her. "Holy fuck," he roared through clenched teeth as he threw his head back. He tried painfully hard not to cum as her walls clamped down around him.

Jack was panting hard as she realized Riddick was still moving inside of her. "You didn't cum?" she questioned in shock.

Riddick was panting twice as hard as he once again started to move in and out of his lover. "That was two orgasms, I said several."

Moaning, she smiled up at him. "You are always so generous. Can I ride you," she questioned.

"That's the sexiest fucking thing you've ever asked me," Riddick mumbled as he rolled them over and quickly got comfortable on his back.

The change in position made them both use noises to voice their approval. Riddick's hands held onto her hips as hers rested on his stomach. Starting off slow, Jack rocked her hips trying to find that perfect rhythm they both loved.

"You're gonna cum so hard, aren't you?" Jack panted and gasped as Riddick's response was to take one breast in each hand.

He would gladly admit that he was a huge fan of her breasts. Even though he knew they were very tender at this point, he just wanted to hold them and feel their weight in his hands.

"Riddick," Jack whispered as her head fell back. His thumbs gently grazed over her nipples and her pace quickened.

Riddick opened his eyes, not remembering when he had closed them. Seeing the sweat glistening on her body and feeling the moisture in her short curls against his own was too much for him. He let go of her breasts and gripped her hips again. "I'm sorry," he growled.

Jack dug her nails into his pecs and allowed him to move into her. Riddick lost the battle and was pushed over the edge as he thrust up into her twice, spilling his hot cum into the condom.

Jack felt the tension in his body build as his hands held her steady. Just as he thrust hard into her another orgasm shuddered through her pussy, trying to milk Riddick's cock for every last drop of his seed.

When all movements were stilled Jack collapsed onto Riddick's chest. "Wow," she said breathlessly against his throat.

Smirking, he laid there panting with her. "Glad to see we still like sex," he chuckled and gasped as she gently bit his hard nipple.

"After all that time of me helping you with only my hand and mouth," she paused to kiss his lips, "I'm glad to see you still know how to work my pussy."

She laughed as Riddick rolled her off him. "You listen here," he told her, removing the condom as he spoke. "I'll have you know that I had lots of practice dreams about me working your pussy."

Jack cuddled up to him when he laid back down. "I know, but that's only because I whispered naughty things into your ear as I woke you most mornings."

That was something Riddick knew wouldn't need to be done anymore now that he fully had his Jack back.

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><p><strong>To Be Continued…<strong>

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><p><strong>Thank you to everyone who left feedback. It's good to know that people are enjoying my story.<br>**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

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><p>Jack smiled down at Kayden as she sat on the couch feeding a bottle to the now two month old. "You would think after two full months, Cole wouldn't feel neglected anymore," she told him.<p>

Kayden stopped eating for a moment and opened his silver eyes to look at his mommy. He looked as though he was trying to comprehend what she had said.

There had been many nights when Jack would wake up to an empty bed only to find Riddick holding Kayden in the nursery. Both of them would be staring at the other, almost as if they were having a silent conversation that only those with shined eyes could have so late in the night. She knew that the father-son bonding time they had at two in the morning was the same type of bonding she had with Kayden during the day.

Jack continued to look down at the mini Riddick as Cole came trotting down the stairs with his squeaky chicken in his mouth. He offered it to Jack, but as she reached for it he pulled it back and went to add it to the pile of other toys.

"Not gonna let me play with that one either?" Jack giggled. "Bring me your bone," she told him.

Cole tilted his head at Jack's request before quickly scaling the stairs again in search for his bone. This game seemed to entertain the dog long enough for Jack to feed Kayden. Once the feeding was over, Jack would do her best to give Cole lots of attention that he seemed to crave.

Smiling back down at Kayden, Jack spoke softly, "He's as happy finding his toys as your daddy and I were when we got to see you for the very first time." Jack loved telling her son things even though she knew he didn't understand any of it.

_Jack sat on the exam table naked from the waist down. She gently smacked Riddick's hand as he tried to lift the flimsy paper sheet off her lap. "Would you behave?" she whispered to him._

_He rubbed the back of his hand like she had really hurt him. "Not fair that some stranger gets to look and I can't," he said back._

_Rolling her eyes she crossed her legs at the ankles. "I told you that you can look tonight," she paused as Riddick flashed her a grin. "Only if you are good and stop acting like a child."_

_Riddick's grin melted away as fast as it had appeared. He closed his eyes and stuck his tongue out instead._

_Jack giggled, "I mean it. Act like you are going to be a dad and not my child's big bratty brother."_

_Standing up he moved the short distance to her. "Fine, but if this doctor is a man we are leaving," he told her before giving her a kiss. Riddick didn't want another man to see or touch what was now his; the simple thought of it made his skin crawl._

_She kissed him back and then pulled away. "I told you, Dr. Weeks is a female and she's one of the best in this area."_

_Glancing around for a moment, Riddick moved over to the TV type screen that was near the end of the exam table. "We already know you are pregnant so why do we need to see her?" Riddick questioned._

_"Don't touch that," she told him as he pushed a button on the TV. "We are here because Dr. Weeks is the doctor that will be making sure the baby and I are healthy. She will also be delivering him or her. Now. Sit. Down."_

_Giving her his usual aggravated growl Riddick did as he was told. Clasping his hands together on his lap he sat extremely still and quiet for exactly ten ticks of the clock. "I'm bored," he said and started to laugh as Jack made a very loud sigh._

_Jack couldn't help but to giggle along with him. "You are officially cut off for a week, Robert Richards," she stated with a now serious look._

_He returned her look and pointed his finger. "You are lucky we are within hearing distance of people or I'd remind you that I don't like when you call me that in private, Jacqueline." He made it a point to call her by her full name, knowing how much she hated it._

_Jack had only one thing left to say, "Make that two weeks." She giggled again as he stood and came over to wrap his arms around her. With her arms trapped between them he nibbled on her neck._

_Just as there was a knock on the door, Riddick pulled away and stood next to Jack._

_"Come in," Jack said and gave Riddick one last dirty look._

_Dr. Weeks came in wearing a white doctor's coat. She had shoulder length dark red hair and glasses. "Good morning. I'm Dr. Weeks," she said as she extended her hand to Jack. "You must be Jack."_

_Jack nodded. "That's right and this is my boyfriend, Robert," she told the doctor while gesturing to Riddick._

_The doctor shook his hand before taking a seat on her chair near Jack's legs and the TV screen. "On the information sheet you filled out it says this is your first pregnancy," she stated._

_Jack nodded and smiled, "Yes and we couldn't be more thrilled about it."_

_"Well, congratulations. I love being able to help first time parents. It's a lot of fun to show them new things, such as an ultrasound," she mentioned and pointed to the ultrasound machine._

_After a few minutes of answering questions about her medical history, the doctor asked Jack to lie back on the table._

_Jack laid back and was surprised when she felt Riddick take a hold of her hand. She glanced over to where he had moved the chair closer and smiled at him._

_The doctor lifted Jack's shirt up so she could squirt some cold gel onto her stomach. "Having any morning sickness?" Dr. Weeks questioned._

_Jack watched what the doctor was doing. "Yes. It's been happening for a little over three weeks now. Most days I'm nauseous all day," she informed the doctor._

_Dr. Weeks nodded. "With some women that's normal. Try eating a few saltine crackers to see if that helps." The doctor turned on the screen before placing a device onto the gel and moving it around._

_Riddick watched the black and white screen with what looked like a big black oval in the middle. On the side of that black oval was a small grey lump. He couldn't quite make out what he was looking at. "What is all that?" he asked._

_The doctor smiled as she pointed to the picture. "This is Jack's womb and this," she pointed to the small object inside that womb. "Is your baby."_

_Jack grinned, "It's so little, but bigger than what I thought it would be for only being slightly pregnant."_

_"From your answers and my exam you are six weeks along," Dr. Weeks said with a smile._

_Looking over at Riddick, Jack smiled because that would mean she really had conceived at the cabin. "When do you think I'll have the baby?" Jack asked._

_The doctor touched a few buttons on the ultrasound machine, she was capturing a few pictures for them to take home. "My estimate is that you are due at the end of December."_

_Riddick kissed Jack's hand before quietly mentioning that they would have the baby during the summer season._

_"Through ultrasounds we will be able to see how well your baby is growing. Most babies at this stage of the pregnancy are about two to five millimeters long. It seems that your baby is about," she paused to do something with the machine. "Your baby is about seven millimeters."_

_Riddick looked from the screen to the doctor. "Is that normal, Doc?" he asked, thinking maybe the doctor was wrong about how far along Jack was._

_Dr. Weeks smiled and nodded, "You are both taller than average, so it looks like you might have a long baby."_

_After cleaning Jack's stomach off the doctor smiled. "Are you planning on finding out the sex of the baby when it's at that point?"_

_Jack smiled back and shook her head. "Robbie and I talked about it, we want to be surprised when the baby is born."_

_Chuckling, Riddick nodded. "It's more like she wants to be surprised, but I already know it's going to be a boy," he said as he helped Jack sit up._

_"And how do you know it's a boy?" Dr. Weeks asked, curious to hear his line of thinking._

_"I figure it like this: our horses are males, our dog is male and so our child might as well be male too."_

_Jack rolled her eyes and giggled along with the doctor. "Don't listen to him; he just doesn't want to have to deal with any potential boyfriends in the future," Jack said as she smiled lovingly at Riddick._

By the time Jack realized she had been remembering the first ultrasound, it was time to burp Kayden. "You have no idea how happy your daddy was when you came out a boy. He still insists that if you ever have a sibling, it will be a brother, but we will see about that."

Placing the baby on her shoulder, she started to burp him. After only a few pats on his small back, Jack giggled at the loud burp that came from him. "Your daddy would be proud of that one," she said while continuing to pat his back. "Speaking of your daddy, I wonder what he's up to next door."

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><p>Since coming back from their vacation, Jack and Riddick had become pretty good acquaintances with the couple that purchased Mr. Kellogg's house, Brent and Marcy Overly. Jack even told Riddick that Marcy was the first woman that she felt was a friend.<p>

From the first day that Riddick went over with Jack to give the new neighbors a cake and glazed orange slices, he had a feeling about Brent. Thankfully it wasn't the feeling he got from mercs; to Riddick it felt as if he knew Brent from some place.

Grunts and groans could be heard from where the two men were almost huddled together for the second time in two days.

"I found some lube type stuff in the basement last night, really lubed the boys up to see if that would work," Brent said while wiping his face with a rag from his pocket.

Riddick chuckled. "From what I hear we might need more than lube to get our boys out of the holes," he told the man who was just a few years younger than him. "We might need a chisel since it's been a while for the both of us."

Brent flinched slightly trying not to lose his grip on his hard tool. "Won't that hurt if we slip?" he asked, since he wasn't used to working so closely with another man's equipment.

Shaking his head Riddick grunted as he wrenched on the large tool he held in his hand. "Nah, man. Just make sure you wear double gloves when we do it," he grinned and grunted one last time before slouching forward. "That way if you go too fast or rough you won't be in trouble with the wife if one glove breaks," Riddick panted out.

Brent nodded his head. "You're a smart man, Robbie," he mentioned before giving up and leaning his back against the old plow. "If it wasn't for your kindness, I would have just junked this rusty plow."

"It's the least I can do to help someone who is willing to get this beautiful farm running again." Riddick moved over to some shade and sat down on the ground.

"You said you moved here about eleven or so years ago, right? Was Mr. Kellogg still able to have it going then?" Brent asked as he dug out two cold waters from the small cooler in the back of his truck.

Riddick took the water that was offered to him. He nodded before taking a few large swallows. "Yeah, but nothing like some of the photos he had shown me. Back about thirty years ago he had just about every acre of this farm covered with everything from walnut trees to pine trees used for Christmas." Riddick looked out at the over grown pine trees in the field in front of them. "I'm sure if you wanted to clear this field you could get a good chunk of change from the wood."

Brent smirked and drank from his water as he sat down in the shade. "Seems like a lot of work to clear it," he said. "Although Marcy has mentioned she would like to make our personal garden bigger. She said something about canning more vegetables since Chase and Elaine are now eating all adult food."

"I can't believe your twins are going to be a year old soon. Are they getting any better at walking?" Riddick asked and smirked at how their conversations seemed to switch to either his son or Brent's kids.

He nodded. "Elaine has the hang of it now. She's still a little wobbly but not too bad, where as Chase has figured out that it's faster for him to crawl where he wants to go," he chuckled.

Riddick chuckled with him. "Smart kid," he mentioned and looked over to see a grin on Brent's face. "Not to change the subject, but I've almost got the two wooden benches that you wanted completed."

Brent smirked. "Great. Marcy is going to love them. And you are still able to keep them in your barn until me and Marcy's anniversary right?" he asked since he wanted the benches to be a surprise.

"Of course, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise since I know how much she loves the ones on my porch," Riddick told him.

Nodding again, Brent spoke, "Yeah. And I can't believe you're only charging me fifty credits for the two benches. With as much detail and work you put into them, I'm still willing to pay a lot more for them."

Riddick waved a hand through the air in a dismissive way. "The only reason I'm even charging you the fifty is so that you would stop whining about not paying me for them," he laughed.

"Just think of it as my donation to the truck you want to get Jack," he smirked. A shrug was a response to Brent's comment. There was a short silence on Brent's end of the conversation before he finally looked at Riddick. "I hope you don't mind me asking and I'll never bring it up again if you say so…"

"Spit it out, Brent," Riddick said as he cut the guy off. He had sensed that the other man had something on his mind since Riddick first came over a few hours prior.

He nodded. "Years ago, maybe sixteen or so, I lived on a planet called Perks. I worked in my step dad's tavern washing dishes and one night this guy came in. He said he was just quickly passing through, but he ended up staying for about four days." Brent knew he was rattling on, but it was harder to ask his question than what he thought it would be.

Riddick recognized the name of the planet, might have even been there once or twice. "And?" he questioned, finishing off his water.

"Close to a week after he disappeared, a merc came in and showed a picture of the guy that had just left. Apparently this guy, who was only a few years older than me, was a wanted fugitive." Brent's attention went back to looking at the broken down plow.

Riddick didn't bother tensing up, but his thoughts went to his family back home. He wondered how Jack would take it if they had to leave.

"I was just wondering how in the hell you managed to escape from such a high security slam and then just drop out of sight?" Brent managed to ask.

With a sigh, Riddick didn't even look over at the man sitting near him. "You are one brave man, Brent. I hope you know that," Riddick said in his deep rumble of a voice.

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><p><strong>To Be Continued….<strong>

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><p><strong>Thank you to those that left me feedback. <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

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><p><em><strong>This chapter is rated <span>MA<span> for adult situations: physical abuse of a 14 year old, the mention of a death and sex. If you are not 18 or do not care for these three things then please skip this chapter and come back for chapter six. Did I mention there's a sexual act of Riddick goodness too?**_

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><p>"I was just wondering how in the hell you managed to escape from such a high security slam and then just drop out of sight?" Brent managed to ask.<p>

With a sigh, Riddick didn't even look over at the man sitting near him. "You are one brave man, Brent. I hope you know that," Riddick said in his deep rumble of a voice.

Hearing the change in Riddick's tone made Brent look over at him. "If you think I'm going to turn you in, Robbie, that's not going to happen." As soon as Riddick stood, Brent scrambled to his feet as well. "I would never take a good man from his family."

"Then why did you ask?" Riddick glared at the man in front of him.

"Because…" he started to say but then froze. "It was just a shock to see you alive after all this time." Brent sighed, "Don't you remember what you did for me back on Perks?"

Riddick tilted his head, never taking his goggled covered eyes off from Brent. "Remind me," he stated.

Looking back up, Brent nodded. "I couldn't take the abuse anymore. When I fucked up you were there to help me."

Riddick did remember. The first night in town he had seen Brent's old man beating him badly in the back alley behind the tavern the man owned. As much as he didn't like seeing the poor kid get beat like that, it wasn't his place to step in; after all he had his own problems to worry about. Two days later Riddick witnessed the man back hand Brent across the face in the alley for breaking two glasses. To Riddick's surprise Brent pushed his step-dad as hard as he could; the man slipped on loose gravel and as he fell backwards, he hit his head on the metal dumpster. The blow to the head killed him instantly. Riddick could still see the panic register on the fourteen year old's face as he realized what he had done. It was then that Riddick knew he had to help the kid out. The criminal life that Riddick had been dealing with wasn't something that the smaller kid could deal with.

"If I were to turn you in I would have to turn myself in as well," Brent added after a few moments of silence.

Thinking about the current situation, Riddick ran his dirty hand over his head. "Did you tell Marcy about what I did for you?" he asked and could see some relief wash over Brent's face.

"I only told her that I was pretty sure you helped me once," he said. Quickly he held up his hands as if to show Riddick he wasn't hiding anything. "Told her I was going to ask if you had ever been to Perks, just to make sure I had the right person."

Riddick nodded once. "I only helped you back then because I knew that no matter if he was beating you within an inch of your life every day, you killed him and that's all the cops would see. But I've been on the straight path for a very long time now, Brent." _Not going to bring up the bump in the road called Connor Ford._

Brent smiled. "I figured from the way you are with Jack and Kayden that you weren't getting into trouble anymore. Does Jack know about your past?" he asked.

Placing a hand against the nearest tree, Riddick leaned against it. "I want to let you in on a secret, Brent," he told him with a face that looked to be chiseled out of stone; he deliberately avoided Brent's question hoping the guy would drop the subject and leave Jack out of it.

The smiled vanished as Brent cleared his throat, "Okay."

Riddick tilted his head a little. "I'm like you. I don't want to take a man from his family, but if I catch the slightest scent of merc around here I'll know who to look for before I leave town." He watched Brent's adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed in fear. "I can continue to be your friend like I started out sixteen years ago on Perks or if you don't think you can keep your secret to yourself we can cut ties and walk away now."

Brent shook his head. "I haven't told anyone; will never tell anyone, man. I haven't even told my wife the details and I tell her everything."

As much as he didn't want to believe him, Riddick could tell Brent was being honest. He could smell the fear rolling off Brent in waves.

"I mean, she knows everything," he continued to rattle on. "Even knows that I lost my virginity at nineteen to a forty-nine year old drunk stripper."

Holding up a hand Riddick stopped him. "Whoa. Stop there. I believe that you won't tell anyone." He couldn't help but to smirk as he pictured the scrawny teenage Brent awkwardly screwing a washed up stripper.

Brent started to laugh. He seemed relieved that Riddick wasn't in the process of killing him.

Riddick knew that the man wasn't going to purposely make him mad and risk losing his wife and kids. _Maybe that saying is true for this situation: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. _It's not that Brent was an enemy, but he sure in the hell wasn't Riddick's best friend either.

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><p>A few hours later Riddick arrived home to find Jack sleeping on the couch. He stopped near her feet and ran his eyes up her shaved legs. When he had left that morning she had been in her night gown still. Now she wore a loose flowing black skirt that reached her knees; her stomach, breasts and shoulders were covered by a black fitted t-shirt.<p>

Riddick licked his lips as he moved a hand over the front of his cargos that were keeping his now hard cock confined. Quickly and quietly he headed upstairs. Peeking into Kayden's room he smiled, seeing both Cole and the baby napping. Walking down the hall to their bedroom, Riddick stripped off his clothes; leaving a trail that would later be the cause of a lecture from Jack. _Which I will then show her how sorry I am for leaving a mess by making love to her for a couple of hours,_he grinned at that thought.

Almost eight minutes later, Riddick was lying on his side next to Jack. He ran a now clean hand up Jack's leg and slowly under her skirt. As his hand reached her silky smooth thigh he began placing small kisses on her cheek and neck.

Jack moaned quietly while her legs voluntarily spread further apart for his hand to gain better access. "Riddick," she whispered, not opening her eyes yet.

Riddick groaned into her neck; he loved how erotic her voice sounded when she first woke up. "Shh, baby. Just trying to repay you for all the times you woke me with pleasure," he said against her ear.

His fingers rubbed over her thin panties and his cock twitched as he imagined what pair she had put on that morning. He smothered her loud moan with a passionate kiss as his thumb started to massage her clit, causing her panties to become moist.

"Can I make love to you, Jack?" he questioned after breaking the kiss.

Feeling his thick, hard erection against her hip, she nodded. "Please, baby. Please do it," it was a statement, but Riddick could sense the need in her voice and eyes.

Removing his hand, he sucked on his thumb, moaning at the sweet taste of his woman.

Shifting on the couch next to her, he helped lift her hips as he pulled her panties down. He grinned at seeing the pair of black lacey bikini underwear she had let him pick out. Tossing them to the floor, Riddick positioned himself between her legs.

Jack looked down between them and smiled at seeing his shorts down past his hips as he stroked himself. "Riddick, I've been waiting all day for you to come home to me," she said as she moved her leg so it was over the back of the couch. "Please don't make me wait longer."

Riddick reached for her other leg to put on his shoulder. He briefly laid light kisses on her ankle before positioning himself at her already wet entrance. "You should have called over to Marcy, could have said you needed my help," he grinned as he slipped inside her.

Jack moaned and shook her head. "It's worth the wait."

He started to pump in and out of her. She was right, their sex was always worth the wait; sometimes better if they teased each other all day until finally their son was asleep and they could play until they were both exhausted.

"You smell so good," he said inhaling her arousal. "Good enough to eat." Riddick winked as he continued to move in and out of her body.

Licking her lips, Jack reached between their bodies and started to rub her clit.

That was a sight Riddick loved; his once sexually nervous lover wasn't afraid to do much of anything with him now. "God I love watching you do that," he growled out. "I'm not gonna last long this time."

Jack knew from the way he had wakened her that this wasn't going to be a slow and steady love session. As hard as he was when she felt him against her leg, she knew he just needed some quick release. That's why she was so eager to help him get her off.

Trying to raise her hips up to meet his caused the tip of his dick to hit places inside of her that she knew only he could reach. Jack closed her eyes as her clit started to get more swollen. "Yeah, almost…" she managed to call out right before a strong orgasm ripped through her body. She arched her shirt covered breasts up as the wonderful feelings swam through her.

Riddick continued to take long thrusts into her, but as soon as her pussy clamped down around him he lost his rhythm. The feeling of her tightness, the sound of her loud moans and the sight of her wet fingers resting in her nest of dark curls pushed him into his own orgasm. His balls pulled close to his body, his warm seed shot through his convulsing cock and deep within Jack. He threw his head back as he kept working short strokes into her, trying to prolong the euphoric feelings.

Jack carefully removed her legs from their resting places and pulled Riddick down onto her. As they pulled away from the heated and sloppy kiss she smiled at him. "What a way to wake up."

Riddick slowly pulled out of her. He sighed, hating the first feelings of not being inside of her any longer. "Now you know why I love it when you wake me like that." He gave her another quick kiss before getting off the couch to get them a washcloth.

Closing her eyes again she smiled as she felt her heart racing. Soon Riddick came back, cleaned up with his shorts on properly. Reaching down he did his best to clean Jack. He seemed to enjoy cleaning her up, plus he caused the mess so it was only fair that he fix it.

Sitting up Jack looked for her panties. "Where did you throw them?" she asked.

Riddick chuckled as he held them up. "These are my favorite; thought I might keep them as a souvenir."

She giggled, "Not sure if they will fit you, but feel free to try."

"You saying I've got a big ass?" he questioned and twirled the panties around on his finger.

Nodding, she straightened her skirt and walked to him. "Just remember I love you regardless of how jiggly your butt is," she said and made a quiet yelping noise when he smacked her on her ass.

He shook his head. "For that comment these are getting hung from my truck mirror."

"You wouldn't dare," she told him, placing her hands on her hips in semi-protest.

"You're right, I wouldn't," he said while putting the panties on the ceiling fan blade. "They can just stay there instead."

Jack laughed and did her best to push Riddick back until he was sitting on the couch. Quickly straddling his legs, she kissed his lips. "Why are you being mean to me?" she asked softly before moving her mouth to his neck.

Riddick put his hands on her hips. "Not being mean, just want to show people that I've got a sexy lover." While feeling her teeth graze over his neck muscles, his eyes fell shut.

"By putting my panties on the fan?" her voice was soft and almost muffled by his heart pounding in his ears. "Won't visitors start pushing and shoving to get past you to get their hands under my skirt if they see I'm not wearing any panties?"

Without warning Riddick's thoughts went to the conversation he had with Brent that morning. Images of a young Brent's bloody lip and black eye as he shoved the old man flooded his memories.

Jack noticed the tension that came over Riddick's body. His grip on her hips was tighter so she pulled back to look at him. "I was only kidding about the guys," she explained.

Riddick's breathing seemed ragged. _Do I tell her that Brent knows my real name?_

"Riddick?" she questioned as her hand gently stroked his cheek.

Moving his head he looked at how worried she already was. "I'm alright, just thought about something." _No need to worry her, since Brent knows not to mention it to anyone._

"Tell me what you thought of," she told him.

Riddick tried to remember what they were talking about before his mind shifted. "Just thought about how crazy it would make me if another man tried to get his hand up your skirt." His hand slid under her skirt for effect.

"I would make you proud by breaking their hands before you had a chance to go crazy," she giggled.

He smirked at her statement. "Jack if I asked you to do something for me, would you do it without arguing?" he asked wanting to change the subject to something else.

She shrugged a little. "If it involves standing on a chair to get my underwear off the fan, then yes I will," she giggled and kissed his forehead softly.

Chuckling, Riddick shook his head. "No, not that. If I asked you to take the extra credits I got from the last shipment and spend the day in Springers shopping for yourself would you do it?" he asked knowing that Springers was a big town that Jack could spend hours in.

She looked at him as if he had asked her to spit fire or something dangerous like that. "Why would you ask me to do that?" she wondered.

"Because I love you and want you to have a nice time away from Kayden and I." It was the truth; he wanted her to have a day to relax and just enjoy herself.

Jack bit her lip a little. "I guess, but I'm not sure how nice it will be away from you two."

Riddick grinned. "Well, Marcy will be here at nine tomorrow morning. She has strict orders to make sure you and her have breakfast and lunch at one of those fancier restaurants. And to make sure you that you spend lots of money on yourself."

Gasping, her eyes got wide. "Why would you tell her to make me do that?" she questioned. She was excited yet nervous to have a whole day away from Kayden; after all this would be the first time she would have spent more than an hour away from him.

"Because the day after tomorrow is your birthday and I want this one to be the best one yet." He couldn't tell her more since she was already kissing him. Of course he wasn't going to tell her that Marcy knew what time to have her home so that Jack would get back after Brent and their friend Marie, from MD's Pizza, would arrive.

Jack smiled as she leaned her head against his. "I'm not sure what I ever did to deserve you, Riddick, but I'm so glad I have you," she whispered.

He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her closer for a hug. "What you did was accept me and show me how to be human again," he said into her shoulder. "And as my thank you for that, I try to do everything I can to make sure your smile never fades."

Hearing his words she moved back a little so she could see his face. "There's really no need to thank me like this. Just continue to be the wonderful boyfriend and father that you are and that's all the thank you I need," she told him.

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><p>The next morning Jack woke up to the sounds of Riddick talking downstairs. As she opened her eyes she felt the warm summer breeze coming in through the drawn shades. "It's only seven thirty, who could he be talking to already?" she questioned as she got out of bed.<p>

Jack threw on her bathrobe and walked down the hallway. She peeked into Kayden's room and found his crib empty, she smiled as she continued downstairs. As she reached the bottom of the step she made a gross face seeing Riddick closing the front door. "What is that smell?" she asked.

Riddick grinned. "Our son likes to stink up the house just like his mommy does," he smiled at Kayden who was sitting quietly in his bouncy seat.

Shaking her she giggled. "I do not smell like that. That is a trait he got from you," she pointed out while moving over to sit on the couch. "Who was here this early in the morning?"

He shrugged and handed her a fresh diaper and wipes. "No one important," he told her before he grinned.

"Oh now I know your daddy is hiding something," she said to Kayden as she picked him up. Kissing his nose she smiled at him, "He's not a very good fibber, because he smiles too much."

Kayden cooed quietly as he gave her a small smile. "Yeah, that's the same smile your daddy gives me when he's hiding something," she giggled.

Riddick came back from the kitchen with a cup of coffee for her. "I'm not hiding anything. What the person dropped off is sitting in plain sight. It's not my fault you can't see it," he said in a bragging tone.

Jack looked up at him as he stood next to the coffee table. "What's going on, Riddick?" she asked as she finished changing Kayden.

"Let's just say I got you an early birthday gift," he winked while heading for the front door with their coffees. "Join me and Cole outside when you are done."

After the door was shut, Jack snapped Kayden's pajamas together and smiled. "It's supposed to be my special day and he leaves me to do the dirty work. Is that fair?" she asked Kayden who just smiled at her as he continued to lie on the couch.

A few moments later Jack opened the front door as she carried Kayden. She quickly stopped on the porch as she looked out at Riddick leaning against a very shiny dark blue truck.

"What in the world?" she asked as she walked down the steps in her slippers.

Riddick grinned as he moved away from the truck and motioned towards the large red ribbon on the hood of it. "Happy birthday, Jack!"

She continued to walk around the vehicle while holding Kayden. "You got us another truck?" She was shocked. "It looks just like Big Blue," she stated since it looked like a newer version of their older hauling truck.

He couldn't help but smile at seeing the look on Jack's face. "I figured with Kayden being here you need a more reliable truck to take back and forth to town. And this way when I'm away working you won't have to drop me off or pick me up; I can just leave Big Blue at the ship yard."

Walking back over to him, she kissed his lips. "This is awesome, baby. I love it!" she said before kissing him again.

Riddick chuckled, "I'm glad you like it. But I do hope that you allow me to drive it now and then since I'm currently the best boyfriend in the world."

"You can drive it whenever you want to," she smiled and kissed him again. "And I do agree with you, you are seriously the best boyfriend ever." She giggled and looked back to the truck.

Taking her hand, he walked with her back to the porch where their coffees were. "You have about an hour before Marcy comes over. I'll take Kayden if you want to take your coffee upstairs while you get ready," he told her after he had taken a swallow from his cup.

Jack smiled. "You do know that you are so getting laid tonight right?"

Chuckling he grinned at her. "I won't turn you down if you offer yourself to me," he told her as he leaned over to kiss her lips. "Now go get ready."

She kissed the top of Kayden's head before passing him off to Riddick. "See you both in a few," she said while heading into the house.

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

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><p><strong>Thank you to all those that added my story to your favorites list! And a big thank you again to those that left me feedback. I enjoy getting the emails and reading what everyone thinks! It's what keeps me going as a writer.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

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><p>A little after ten that morning, Jack drove her new truck into the large town of Springers.<p>

"Brent and I drove through here once, but we didn't get a chance to stop," Marcy mentioned.

Jack smiled over at her. "There are tons of places to shop," she said. "Even more stores if we head North up 110th street," Jack pointed out the street she was referring to.

Marcy seemed very excited as she looked at the buildings they passed. "Robbie told me we had to get breakfast. Any ideas where you would like to go?" she asked Jack.

Giggling, Jack shook her head. "He also told me it had to be one of the fancier places," she added as she slowed down for a lady walking across the street. "Do you want to try Alfred's?"

Marcy looked at the large red neon sign that was about twenty yards ahead of them. "It says they have wine, so I guess that qualifies as fancy," she said with a laugh.

Jack nodded. "Sounds good to me," she agreed while slowly turning into a parking space in front of the restaurant. A chalkboard on the sidewalk said that Alfred's served breakfast, lunch and dinner, wine and spirits in the afternoon and endless cinnamon sticks all day.

"I hope we are dressed up enough for them," Jack said as they stepped out of the truck.

Marcy giggled while looking down at her own clothes: tan khaki pants, a brown dress blouse and brown slip on shoes with three inch wedge heels. "If they want fancier then this than they are operating on the wrong planet."

Jack motioned to her black dress slacks, black zip up ankle boots and her white silk top. "This is as fancy as I get, so if they want our business they will accept it," she said with a playful smile.

Upon walking into the restaurant, Jack noticed the old fashioned décor. "Wow, this looks like something from Earth," she stated as her eyes took in everything she could.

The large room in front of them had beautiful red hardwood floors and red wood chairs that probably matched the white clothed tables. Each table fit two or four people and had a small vase that held a single red carnation. The walls were brick with built in wine racks and a fire place that was already lit.

"Yeah, what's that place called on Earth?" Marcy asked as she thought. "Don't they call it Italy?"

Jack nodded. "That's what I was thinking."

A woman dressed in a black dress came over with a smile. "Welcome to Alfred's. Will it be just the two of you this morning?"

Marcy and Jack both nodded.

"Right this way, please," the waitress said as she turned to head farther into the dining area. Once Jack and Marcy were seated, the waitress gave them each a menu and took their drink orders.

After the waitress left, Marcy smiled at Jack. "Have you ever been to Earth before?" she asked, while starting to look over the menu.

Jack nodded, "Once, but it was only for about a week."

Smiling, Marcy looked up at her. "I'm guessing you didn't stay in Italy," Marcy said, judging from the look on Jack's face.

"Unfortunately, no, but I've read a lot about it. For my schooling I did most of it on the web and my teacher was big on allowing me to research things I was interested in," she told Marcy.

She had tried to go to normal school on New Mecca, but it wasn't possible for her. The school work was too easy and she didn't fit in with the other kids. So for Jack it was better for Imam to teach her at home.

Marcy was looking at the menu again. "I know you said that you and Robbie traveled a lot before settling here. Did you visit Earth while traveling with him?"

Nodding, Jack turned the breakfast menu to the next page. "Yeah, we docked in a country called The U. S. of A."

"What does that mean?" Marcy asked.

Jack smiled. "It means: The United Stated of America," she told her before continuing. "We were in the Upper Peninsula of a state called Michigan. You should have seen it, it was beautiful. Tons of trees and get this, the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten."

Marcy laughed quietly and listened to Jack tell more about the place.

"And there was this huge bridge that connects the upper and lower regions of the state. I wanted to go on it, but Robbie was too chicken," she said. _It wasn't that he was chicken, but the fact that in order to get onto the bridge you had to go through a security check point. _"So we just looked at it. It was a very beautiful thing to see all lit up at night."

"Wow, I wish Brent and I had the credits to travel like that," Marcy stated.

Jack smiled, but in her head she knew that traveling like that wasn't all that great; especially when she mostly saw four walls and nothing outside.

About ninety minutes and a great conversation later, the two women left Alfred's. Jack and Marcy both carried out a boxed up bottle of wine; courtesy of Riddick.

Jack wanted to bring Riddick back to Alfred's some time soon. They sold ostrich eggs and those were his favorite kind; they were very hard to find on Urizane. There wouldn't be any reason for her to complain if he wanted to eat at the restaurant often.

After putting their wine in the truck, they decided to start shopping. Before entering the first store, Josie's, Jack whispered to Marcy.

"Are you noticing a trend, Marcy?" she asked, pointing to the name of the store.

Marcy smiled, "It seems the business owners around here really want people to know who owns it," she whispered back before giggling. "Now this is a store we don't have in our town."

Jack looked at the shelves and racks that were filled with lingerie. "Oh, my," Jack said as she blushed, seeing a manikin wearing a barely there bra and panty set.

"Are mothers even supposed to wear something like this?" Marcy asked while holding up a purple pair of crotchless panties.

Not being able to contain herself, Jack started to laugh. "Those are made for women whose men work all day and are too tired to undress their women."

Marcy offered the pair of panties to Jack. "You better buy these because from what I hear during the harvest season, Robbie works a lot," she mentioned while trying not to giggle again.

Rolling her eyes, Jack waved a dismissive hand at her friend. "Oh stop. He might be tired most days, but he's capable of taking my underwear off," she said and moved over to another rack.

"So this might be a great time to finish our conversation from earlier! While you were pregnant with Kayden did you get more into sex?" Marcy asked; since neither of them new any other mothers they had started comparing being pregnant with one baby to being pregnant with twins.

Jack slowly looked through the items that were hanging in front of her. "I'm not sure if it was possible for me to get more into it," she giggled quietly, not really wanting anyone else to hear what she was saying. "After all we did it a lot before I got pregnant."

Marcy nodded, "True for us too, but I became sick of sex after I was about six months."

Looking over at her friend, Jack smiled, "Really? Was it because it started to get uncomfortable at that point?"

Nodding again, Marcy frowned a little. "My doctor said that sometimes it's the last couple of months when it hurts. I think that it was because I had two babies growing inside of me," she stated.

Jack shrugged. "For me it was like what your doctor said. Robbie and I tried different things, but with not being able to have sex I just kind of didn't want him touching me anymore. Especially when I was lying down and couldn't even see his head hidden below my big stomach," she blushed. "But I still wanted to touch him a ton, do you think that that's weird?" she added almost like it was an after thought.

Marcy laughed while nodding. "So very weird!" she said teasingly.

"Why did I even bother answering your initial question?" Jack asked as she giggled and playfully pushed Marcy away from her; this made Marcy laugh even harder.

At that moment an older sales woman came over. "Can I help you ladies find anything?" she asked politely.

Jack smiled and nodded. "Do you by chance have shorts for women?" she asked not sure if the shorts were called boxers when they were made for women. "You know like boxers, except made for women."

The sales lady smiled and started to talk as she turned to walk to another section of the store. "Believe it or not, women's sleep shorts are very popular around here," she informed Jack and Marcy.

They were stopped in front of a very large wall that had lots of different sizes, colors and textures of boxers.

"Our most popular design is the 'kiss me' design," the woman said as she took a pair of small black boxers off the wall.

Looking at the boxers, Marcy smiled. "Kind of tells the man what to do," she stated, pointing to the red lips that looked like a heart.

"Marcy!" Jack blushed a deep pink color.

The sales lady giggled as Marcy shrugged innocently. "What? When they place the lips right over the spot where your you know what will be, that to me screams, 'kiss me!'" She laughed, "No wonder they are the most popular kind."

The lady hung the boxers back up. "Is there anything else I can help you find?"

Jack shook her head. "Thanks, but I think I'm just going to look around," she said while quickly moving over to another rack.

She wasn't used to being around someone that was so open yet funny at the same time. Riddick was like that, but never in public. Jack looked over and saw Marcy and the lady at another shelf, so she quickly moved back to the boxers. Picking out her size in the 'kiss me' design, she also got a pair of black boxers that reminded her of Riddick's; he seemed to love her in his black shorts, so she got a second pair for herself. Walking around, she browsed through everything she saw. Her mind wasn't looking for comfort; it was searching for things that Riddick might like.

_He loves me in black, red and dark purple, _she thought while picking out a couple of lacy, almost see through bra and panty sets. Glancing back over to where Marcy was looking, Jack quickly grabbed a red pair of crotchless panties. _For Riddick's birthday!_

* * *

><p>Back in their town, Riddick and Kayden were in the grocery store. Kayden was buckled into his car seat while it was in the basket of the cart.<p>

Riddick stood at the fresh meat counter waiting for the butcher to give him the ten steaks he had asked for. As he leaned over to put the steaks into the cart, he noticed Kayden watching him.

"Are you enjoying your first shopping trip alone with me?" he asked his son.

Kayden kept looking at his smiling daddy for a moment before he smiled back.

Riddick chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes."

Pushing the cart down the snack aisle, Riddick tried to figure out what to get. He knew their friend Marie was bringing a noodle salad along with a potato salad. Marcy had baked a cake and Brent was bringing that over. After what seemed like ten minutes to him, he finally grabbed some plain chips, cheetos, a jar of salsa and some tortilla chips.

"If they don't like any of this then that leaves more for us, huh kid?" Riddick asked Kayden.

Kayden's eyes were half closed as he sucked on his small blue binky.

Moving around the store, Riddick headed for the flower section. He picked out two dozen red roses that would be from him and a bouquet of pink carnations from Kayden.

As he was nearing the check out line, Kayden pushed his binky out of his mouth and started to cry. Riddick tried to give it back to him, but the baby wasn't okay with that. Unbuckling him, Riddick picked hims son up. "Hey, there's no crying when you are with me, remember?" he asked quietly, cradling Kayden in his arms.

Feeling the rumble of his daddy's deep voice, Kayden calmed down. He gladly accepted his binky now that his daddy was holding him. Riddick did his best to hold Kayden in one arm as he unloaded his groceries from the cart onto the counter.

The teenage boy behind the counter smirked at Riddick. "Your wife isn't with you today?" he asked while scanning Riddick's purchases.

_Wife? _"No, she's over in Springers, shopping," Riddick told the kid. After a moment he looked at the kid again. "What makes you think she's my wife?"

The kid shrugged as he started to bag what Riddick bought. "Ever since I can remember I've seen you two around town together. Now you have a baby, so I just assumed you were married," he paused and looked at Riddick. "I was wrong, wasn't I?"

It was Riddick's turn to shrug. When his bags were in his cart he handed the kid ten credits more than his total. "Keep the change," he said as he started to push the cart out of the store one handed.

Out in the parking lot, Riddick continued to hold Kayden as he loaded the bags into the back of the truck. When the cart was empty he placed a sleeping Kayden back into his car seat before putting the seat into the truck.

_Wonder how many others think Jack and I are married? h_e thought as he started to drive home. _Several times I've mentioned marriage; can't help it if they were in a joking way. _He glanced at Kayden. "And she didn't even joke back, so that has to mean she isn't ready to get married, right Kayden?" he mumbled, not wanting to wake him.

* * *

><p>About four hours later, Jack and Marcy had been to a total of five stores and were just heading into the antique store.<p>

"I've always loved the look of old stuff," Jack told Marcy as they started to look around.

"Me too. It's fun to see what was popular lots of years ago," Marcy said.

Wandering around together, they stopped by the jewelry counter. "Wow, look at those rings," Jack pointed them out to Marcy.

"How could women wear such big stones?" she asked and showed Jack one that had a very large yellow diamond in it.

"Some of them are pretty, but not very practical if you ask me," Jack commented as she continued to look at the rings.

_If Riddick and I do ever get married, I wonder if he would make me pick out my own ring, _Jack wondered. _Oh hell, who am I kidding? It took us over ten years to get together; it'll probably be another ten before marriage even crosses his mind._

At that very moment Jack thought back to a few days after Kayden was born. She remembered Riddick telling her that if she was going to make him wear something then she could at least be romantic enough to buy him a ring. _Was that really supposed to be a joke or was he serious? _She still didn't know and it had happened over two months ago.

"Jack?" Marcy said again. "You okay? You're kind of zoning out on me."

Jack smiled. "Sorry, I'm just missing Kayden. I was wondering what he's doing," she lied while she moved away from the rings and over towards the necklaces.

"He's probably doing the same thing as Chase and Elaine: napping." Marcy giggled. "Come on; let's go get some lunch and maybe some fattening dessert."

Jack laughed, "Yeah lunch sounds good."

They drove around until they found a restaurant called, "Your Place." Both women agreed that it sounded as if the owners were inviting you in.

"Might not be fancy like Ri…Robbie wanted, but I can smell hamburgers," Jack said as they climbed out of the truck.

Walking inside they noticed a western theme right away. They found a booth off to the side and sat down.

A waitress came over with fresh baked rolls and special honey butter. She took their drink orders and left them to look over the menu.

"I just want to tell you how great it is that after all these years Brent and Robbie found each other again. I'm glad that you and I have become friends," Marcy said.

Jack looked up at her. "What do you mean that they found each other again?" she questioned, unaware that the two men had known each other before.

Marcy smiled. "From what Brent tells me, Robbie and him got to know each other about fifteen or so years ago. But I guess Robbie left and they lost track of each other."

"Oh," Jack said. She looked around for a moment. "How long did they know each other before Robbie left?" Her mind was racing, trying to figure out if Marcy knew about Riddick's past.

"Not too long, Robbie did a favor for Brent before he left town," Marcy winked at Jack before looking down at the menu again.

_Holy shit! She ended that statement with a wink. She's got to know about Riddick, _she thought, completely forgetting about ordering food. _Whose idea was this day away from Riddick? Was this Brent's way of getting Riddick alone? _"Marcy? Today was Robbie's idea right?" Jack questioned.

Marcy grinned. "Yup. He seems like such a sweet boyfriend," she told Jack.

"Yes, very sweet. I would hate for anything to happen to him," Jack said quickly.

When the waitress came back with their drinks Jack ordered a burger and fries. She wasn't hungry anymore, but ordered anyway.

"So, ah, does Robbie remember Brent?" Jack finally asked.

Marcy was buttering a roll. "He sure does. Brent didn't think Robbie would after all these years and Robbie's track record."

_With his track record? _"Well, um, Brent must have asked a very big favor if Robbie remembers it," Jack mentioned.

"Oh, yeah. Huge!" Marcy said, winking again at Jack from across the table. "I take it Robbie didn't tell you?"

Jack shook her head. "Must have slipped his mind." _Why else would he not tell me?_

The rest of the lunch meal consisted with mostly Marcy talking while Jack tried to figure out if Brent truly was a good guy.

_Just seems kind of weird that Connor Ford was a merc; he dies and in moves some long lost friend that Riddick didn't tell me about. I wonder if Riddick thinks or maybe knows that Brent is a merc and he's not telling me, _she thought as she slowly ate a fry.

"Hey Marcy, do you know most of Brent's family?" Jack questioned.

Marcy shook her head. "No. He was an only child and he ran away when he was in his middle teens."

_Or because you are hiding the truth. _Jack tried to think of any visible connections between Brent and Connor.

* * *

><p>"Jack is going to love you when she sees you brought some bread sticks from the pizza place, Marie!" Riddick said as he helped her hang up some party streamers she had also brought with her.<p>

Marie stepped off from Riddick's back porch to see how the streamers looked. "You and her are my best customers, so of course I would bring her free food," she laughed.

Riddick laughed too, "I'm sure I'll see them added to my check the next time I place an order."

Brent was starting to put charcoal in the bottom of Riddick's grill. "When did you tell Marcy to have Jack back here?" he asked.

Looking over to the shrieks and giggles coming from the play pen that Chase and Elaine were in, Riddick smirked. "I told her to be back around six."

"That's about thirty minutes from now," Marie said. "Brent, let's go move our trucks out of sight."

Brent glanced over to the kids. "Care to babysit for a minute?"

Riddick looked over at them as well. "Yeah, but if they escape their confines, I wasn't involved," he chuckled.

Brent started to follow Marie around the side of the house as he chuckled. "If you lose my kids I get to have yours. He's more laid back anyway."

Kayden was swinging quietly in his swing on the back porch; from the way it looked he didn't have a care in the world. "Jack would kill you if you took our baby," Riddick called out to Brent.

A moment later Riddick walked back up onto the porch. They had just put the food on the table, the cake looked great and there were gifts for Jack. Marie had arranged the flowers in several vases; Jack's favorite vase was in the middle of the food table.

Quickly, Marie and Brent came running around the side of the house. "They are driving up the drive way," Marie said with a big smile. "We got our trucks on the other side of the barn just in time."

"I'll start the grill," Brent told Riddick. "Why don't you take Kayden inside and act natural."

Riddick raised an eyebrow at that.

Brent smirked, "Natural! You know, being lazy or whatever you do when Jack isn't around."

Marie was giggling as she brought Kayden to Riddick. "Hurry before she sees us too."

He took his son, "Let's go act lazy." Quickly getting inside he shut the kitchen door and headed to the front porch. "Look who's here, son," he said and pointed to Jack.

Jack had a huge grin on her face as her and Marcy pulled up to the house. "My Kayden!" she called out as she met him and Riddick half way between the truck and the house. "Mommy missed you so much."

Riddick handed Kayden to her. "Where's my kiss?" he smirked seeing Jack give their son lots of kisses.

"I missed you too, hun," Jack said before giving Riddick a long, hard kiss on the lips.

When they pulled away, Riddick grinned. "Mmm, new gloss or what ever it's called?" he asked while licking his lips.

Marcy stepped near them. "I made her get it. It's called 'Passion Fruit.'" Marcy smiled at Jack. "Can I use your bathroom before I head home?"

Before Jack could answer, Riddick nodded. "Sure, I'll even be nice and drive you home. I'm sure you bought out a few stores today."

Marcy huffed. "A few? Gee, Jack, maybe we shouldn't let him see the back of your truck."

Jack giggled. "We closed down Springers. The whole town had their closed signs up as we left."

Shaking his head, Riddick walked with them into the house. "I figured you would," he paused. "Hey, before you use the bathroom, I have something I want you both to see outside," he stated.

Marcy and Riddick had come up with the bathroom excuse as a way to get Marcy into the house without Jack thinking twice about it.

"Can it wait until after she's done?" Jack asked, confused about why they had to see it right away.

Marcy smiled. "It's okay, I can wait," she said.

Jack shrugged and followed them through the kitchen. Marcy went out the door first, followed by Riddick.

As she stepped out onto the porch Jack stopped in her tracks as Riddick, Marcy, Brent and Marie yelled, "Surprise!"

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you all who left feedback. I know I say this every time, but feedback means the world to me!<br>**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

* * *

><p>Jack looked at the white and purple balloons and streamers. As she glanced around she could see several vases that held beautiful flowers and what looked to be food and cake on two different tables. She smiled at Marie, who owned MD's Pizza, as Marie handed Elaine to Marcy. Jack then smiled at Brent who had Chase on his hip and was smiling back at her.<p>

"You planned this?" she asked Riddick, moving over to him.

Riddick pulled her into a sideways hug, not wanting to squish Kayden. "Yeah. I told you I wanted this to be the best birthday."

Jack leaned up and kissed his lips. "Thank you," she said before moving over to Marie. "Thank you for coming."

Hugging Jack back, Marie smiled. "There's no way I would turn down an invitation to a birthday party. Besides, I don't have to cook you pizza for your birthday, so I was thrilled to come."

Jack laughed, "We will probably still order pizza tomorrow on my actual birthday." It seemed every year they had a home cooked meal and within a couple of days they were getting pizza as another birthday treat.

As Jack went to tell Brent thank you, he gave her a quick hug and then smiled. "Just so you know, I didn't cook any of this food. So if the food tastes bad, it isn't my fault, but if it tastes good then I cooked it all!"

Everyone laughed. "I'm sure it will all be great," Jack said and looked down to Kayden who was staring up at her. It was as if this was the first time he had ever seen her.

Brent and Riddick put the steaks on the grill while the women each played with a baby. Jack gave Kayden to Marie for a moment while she went to the bathroom. When she came out he was screaming and his face was bright red. Riddick was doing his best to calm him, but it was just making Kayden more pissed off.

"What in the world is wrong?" she asked in a soothing voice when Riddick gladly handed him to her.

"He hates me," Marie said with a fake pout.

Brent chuckled after taking a sip from his beer. "Nah, you're just not his mommy," he mentioned since there were lots of times when his kids wanted Marcy and would scream if he tried to hold them.

Kayden was already calming down as Jack swayed side to side and quietly shushed him. Everyone could see the wet streaks that were coming down his little cheeks. His silver eyes blinked away the tears as he looked at his mommy.

"Are you going to show everyone how you have your daddy's temper when you don't get your way?" Jack asked as she smiled at Riddick.

The other women giggled. Riddick shook his head. "Don't listen to her, I don't cry; just throw myself down while I kick and scream."

Brent nodded. "I do the same. Sometimes I even throw my plastic teething ring," he joked in an honest tone as he started to put the cooked steaks onto a plate.

Riddick laughed loudly at that.

For some reason Riddick and Brent joking like that made Jack feel a little uneasy. As much as she was grateful the other three people had come over to help her celebrate her birthday, she kind of wished they would just go home. _I've got to stop that. It was nice of them to come over tonight. I should be thankful, not trying to hurry them away, _she thought even though she just wanted to ask Riddick about him knowing Brent in the past.

They all sat down at the table on the porch and passed around the different food choices. Jack smiled as she watched both Brent and Marcy take a child onto their lap to feed them soft things. "I can't believe they will be a year old in a few weeks," she told them.

Marcy smiled. "It's crazy how fast they grow," she said while giving Elaine a spoonful of apple sauce.

Looking at Marie and then to Riddick, Jack smiled. "I want to thank you all again for coming over tonight. This is…" she paused for a moment. "This is the first real birthday party I've had and it means a lot to me to have you all here to celebrate with us."

Marie held up a hand. "Now if you start crying, I'll start too and no one wants to see that."

Riddick, who was sitting next to Jack, put his arm around her. "I'm sure I can speak for the others when I say there is no need to thank us. You would do the same for us," he told her as he kissed the top of her head.

As they continued to eat, Mary looked at Jack. "Is this really your first real birthday party?"

Jack nodded. "Never was much of a party person," she said with a smile. It was the truth, but until now she normally had only one person who cared enough to give her a gift and cake: first only Imam and then after several years only Riddick.

_She had been back with Riddick for almost ten months now; Things seemed to be going well with her being back with him, but at times she still felt like she was just with him because of a promise he made to Imam._

_For about a week now, Jack had been giving Riddick subtle hints that her birthday was coming up._

_Jack handed Riddick his dinner. "So you are only working a single shift, right? Not working a double tonight?" she asked, trying to see if he would be home for her birthday the next day._

_Nodding, he started to eat his fried eggs and bread. "Why are you suddenly so interested in me not working a double?" he questioned._

_She shrugged. "No big reason," she stated as she cut into her egg. "I was just wondering if maybe we can do something tomorrow."_

_"Told you before, this neighborhood isn't good, Jack. You gotta stay inside," Riddick stated in between mouthfuls._

_Jack sighed as she put her fork down. "But it's my birthday tomorrow. Why can't I go out if you're with me?"_

_He stood up quickly and moved to the kitchen to get the hot sauce for his eggs. "I told you already, it's not safe, because when I go to work at night, people will know you are alone in here. Besides, we need to save what extra money we do have so that we can get a place in a better area." Riddick brought the condiment back and started to eat again._

_Even though he tried to make conversation with her, Jack was silent the rest of the meal._

_Usually, when he was finished, he would leave his plate on the table for her to take care of, but tonight he took it to the kitchen. He stood in the doorway wiping his hands on a towel as he watched Jack push egg pieces around on her plate with a fork. "I'm sorry, Jack. I'll bring you a cake or something," he said and tossed the towel behind him onto the counter._

_"Okay," she said while she looked at him getting his coat on to leave. "Thank you," Jack told him as he left the apartment._

_The next morning, Riddick came back from work four hours later than normal. His clothes smelled of booze and perfume and he didn't have a cake._

_"Couldn't find a cake?" she asked as she got up from the couch so he could take his turn at sleeping since the_ _cramped apartment didn't even have a bedroom._

_"Cake?" Riddick repeated. "Oh shit! No kid, I forgot about it," he said while taking his coat and boots off to lie down._

_Even though when he picked her up from Imam's he told her she was stuck with him, she could see that it wasn't going to be a fun ride. That would be the last year she mentioned anything about her birthday to him._

Jack came out of her memory just in time to hear Riddick telling the story of Jack's first birthday they had celebrated at their current house. That was the first birthday he had acknowledged on his own.

"You should have seen her. She was so mad that I was making her hunt around the house for the couple of gifts I had gotten her," he chuckled. "And the more I told her that she was either hot or cold as she searched, the more she swore she hated me."

Marie giggled and smiled at Jack. "Aw, couldn't have hated him too much since you two are still together."

Jack smiled at Riddick. "Couldn't leave this man even if I wanted to," she watched Riddick look at her; she could see her smile in the reflection of his goggles.

* * *

><p>After everyone left later, Riddick could tell that Jack was upset about something. She walked past him in the kitchen on her way to the living room without saying a word. He had noticed the small looks she had been giving him and Brent all night, so it wasn't a surprise when she now ignored him.<p>

"Didn't enjoy your party tonight, did you," he said as he leaned against the kitchen door frame.

Jack was sitting on the couch folding the towels she had washed that morning. "I enjoyed it. I actually had a lot of fun," she told him while not looking in his direction.

Riddick moved over to the couch and took the towel from her hands. "Then what's wrong, baby? I seen the looks you were giving me and Brent so clearly something is wrong."

Finally looking at him, she sighed. "Why didn't you tell me that Brent knew?"

He tossed the towel into the basket. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, Jack," he told her honestly.

"How long have you known that Brent knows who you really are?" she asked him straight out.

Riddick sighed and leaned back against the back of the couch. "Yesterday, he reminded me of how I helped him out years ago. How did you find out?"

"So you did know!" she accused him as she stood up, placing her hands on her hips. "And you didn't think to inform me of this?" Her voice was raised.

"I didn't think it was important to bring it up," he told her while sitting up straighter. As soon as his words left his mouth he wished he could inhale them again, just to hide them away. "Jack, listen," he started to say as he stood up. "I didn't want you to get upset like you are now."

Jack was not only hurt, but was now mad. "Well, sorry that I get upset when someone tells me that they know who you really are," she said while turning her back to him. "And the way you two were joking around tonight," she said quieter. "What, are you two like best friends now or something?"

Riddick put his hand on her shoulder and sighed when she pulled away from his touch. "You're my only best friend, baby, and you know it. But if someone jokes around with me then I'm going to joke back. After all, you can't expect me not to be friends with the guy when you are hanging around Marcy."

Turning, she glared at him. "I'm not saying you can't be friends with him, Riddick, but if you are suddenly going to start keeping shit from me then maybe you should go live at his house instead of here with me," she yelled before quickly running up the stairs.

"Jack, wait," he said as he moved towards the steps. When she didn't stop he growled loudly, "Fuck!"

A few minutes later Riddick walked into their bedroom with the bags of stuff that Jack bought in town. He sat them on the floor near the closet and moved over to the open bathroom door. Riddick stood there silently as he watched her wash her face. "Find anything good in town today?" he questioned, just hoping she would talk to him.

She shrugged, but didn't say anything.

Riddick sighed, "I'm sorry, Jack."

"I'm sure you are," she told him before moving past him to go get her pajamas from the dresser.

Moving over to the bed, he sat down and continued to watch her as she got ready for bed. "I planned to tell you," he started, but she interrupted him.

"As we were hurrying to leave the planet I suppose" she stated sarcastically.

He shook his head. "I didn't want to ruin your birthday. I swear I was going to tell you later this week."

It was her turn to look at him for a moment before going back to finding some pajamas.

"He's not going to tell anyone about me. He's scared shitless that I'll turn him in for killing his step dad," Riddick told her, hoping that would get her attention.

Success.

"He did what?" she questioned as she stopped moving and turned to look at him.

Riddick nodded. "When he was younger he worked at his step dad's bar washing dishes. The first night I was passing through town I seen his old man beating the crap out of him for something," he said while his eyes followed Jack as she moved over to sit next to him on the bed. "I didn't get involved; how could I, I was already wanted and being hunted. So a few nights later as I was coming out of the same bar I witnessed the man hitting Brent again, that time Brent fought back. He pushed the guy so hard that the guy lost his balance and hit his head on the metal dumpster."

Jack's eyes were wide as she listened to what Riddick was saying.

"He was killed instantly. Even looking at Brent out there tonight I could still see the scrawny kid looking petrified," he continued and shrugged. "I helped him out by getting rid of the body for him. I honestly didn't think twice about Brent after I left town that night, but guess who just happened to cross my path again?"

She wasn't really sure what to say. Jack honestly felt sorry for Brent having to go through that at a young age, but it still didn't explain why Riddick didn't tell her. "I'm sorry he had to go through that and I'm glad you were there to help him," she looked at Riddick. "But it being my birthday isn't a good enough reason not to tell me something like this." Jack stood up and moved back into the bathroom to change; not in the mood for Riddick to see her naked at the moment. "Marcy made comments at lunch today that you and Brent knew each other years ago. So the rest of the day I was worried about what was happening back here with you and Kayden. I was even trying to find a connection between Connor Ford and Brent," she said loudly so he would hear her from the bathroom.

Riddick had taken off his shirt and boots. "There is no link between them, Jack," he told her.

Jack came out of the bathroom in her night shirt and shorts. "Duh, I know that now, but what else was I supposed to think when Marcy kept winking at me like she knew the secret?" Once again she turned her back to Riddick as she squatted down to search for the bag from Josie's so she could hide the bag from Riddick's sight. "Not like I was let in on the information so that I wouldn't worry."

Growling, Riddick moved over to Jack. He gently took her by the arm and pulled her to a standing position. "The only reason I didn't tell you yesterday was because I didn't want you to be upset and think that Brent was here to turn me in or something. Clearly I fucked up and I'm sorry. It won't happen again, I promise," he backed her up and helped her sit on the bed. "There are no other secrets that I'm hiding from you and there will never be any more secrets."

She looked at him in the dim light of the room. Reaching up she carefully took his goggles off his face and looked at his silver pools as they stared back at her. "It hasn't even been a year since Connor came here and tried to take you from me, Riddick. The way Marcy was acting and talking when she told me about you and Brent, I just…"

"…Feared that they were going to try and do the same," he finished her sentence. "I know and you don't have any idea how many thoughts ran through my head when he asked me about being on Perks with him."

"Are you sure we can trust him? He's not going to accidentally slip up and call you Riddick in front of others, right?" she asked, taking his hand and pulling him to lay next to her on the bed.

Riddick shook his head after he was positioned next to her. "Like I said, he's currently scared shitless that I'm going to turn him in for killing his old man. And I told him that if I smell a merc around here his ass is going to die before I leave this planet," Riddick reminded her while wrapping an arm around her.

There were a few minutes of silence between them. Riddick could sense that she was still upset with him, but almost all of the anger and fear he had smelled downstairs was gone now.

In a quiet voice Jack finally broke the silence. "I'm still upset that you didn't tell me," she quickly put her finger to his lips as he started to speak. "But I understand why you didn't. And I do believe that you will keep your promise that you made tonight about not keeping any more secrets from me."

Riddick nodded when she looked at him.

"Because if you break that promise and hide something big like that from me again, you will be sleeping out in the barn, but only because I want Kayden to have his daddy around."

He smirked, "And you will keep me around so that you can have as much sex as you need."

Jack playfully slapped his chest. "Not so," she told him and leaned up on her elbow. "I know how to pleasure myself now, so I don't need you."

His eyes got wide and Jack swore they got darker. "You don't need me, huh?" he questioned. "If you don't need me then why did you go to Josie's, shopping for sexy things?"

Gasping, she got off the bed and went back over to the bags. "You peeked didn't you," she said as she found the bag she had been looking for before he pulled her to the bed. "Did you see what I got? Some of it was supposed to be a surprise."

Riddick leaned up on both elbows. "No I didn't see what you got, I just seen the writing on the bag. Besides that's where I got your gift from," he chuckled as she stopped looking inside the black bag and looked up at him.

"Liar, you didn't give me a gift tonight from there," she smiled at him.

Chuckling, he rolled his eyes like she did. "Do you really think I would give you sexy lingerie in front of people? Think about that one for a moment, Jack," he told her and sat up fully.

Jack had made sure that everything she purchased was still in the bag, so she put it back down and looked at him. "No you wouldn't, so then where is my gift?" she asked.

Shrugging, he headed towards the bathroom. "Can't remember," he told her with a wink.

She gasped and shook her head. "Robert Richards, I am not hunting for the gift," she sternly told him after he disappeared into the bathroom.

Before she had managed to pick the lingerie bag back up, Riddick's arms were wrapping around her midsection from behind. Jack laughed as she was lifted up in the air while he growled and tossed her gently onto the bed.

"What did you call me?" he asked while crawling up the bed naked.

Jack scrambled to move backwards to the head board. "Can't remember," she mimicked his words and wink, just as he playfully bit her leg.

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

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><p><strong>Thank you again to those that left feedback. And to those that made this one of their favorite stories. Feel free to let me know why this is one of your favorites, via: feedback or a simple PM!<br>**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

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><p><em><strong>This chapter is rated MA for adult situations. If you are not 18 or do not care for sexual acts of Riddick goodness, then please skip this chapter and come back for chapter nine.<strong>_

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><p>Over the next couple of weeks Jack tried to continue to trust Brent as she had done before she found out that he knew about Riddick's past.<p>

Riddick did his best to pay more attention to Jack when they were around Brent and Marcy. Small touches would be exchanged between them when they would pass by each other; he would smile and wink at her if they caught each other's eye and Riddick's favorite: if he got a moment alone with Jack he would whisper naughty things to her, just to see her blush.

Pulling up to Brent's house, Jack got the diaper bag and Kayden while Riddick took out one large wrapped present.

As they reached the front porch, Brent came out smiling. "Thanks for coming." His eyes got wide at the gift in Riddick's arms. "Wow, need help with that?" he asked.

Riddick smiled. "Yes, because there's another one still in the truck," he said and handed the first box to Brent.

Jack giggled, "Don't look so surprised, Brent; two birthday kids means two gifts."

Brent nodded. "Tell me about it. Marcy had me get two of everything so they won't fight over the same toy."

"I'm sure they will still fight over one toy, even if an identical toy is nearby," Riddick said as he came back with the second large wrapped box that held another small push and ride on toy.

Walking inside, they were greeted with shrieks and laughter from Chase and Elaine.

Jack giggled as she watched Marcy toss a couple of blown up balloons into the air. The twins would laugh as they crawled after them, only to shriek when they wanted their mommy to throw them again.

"Welcome to the happy house," Marcy said, smiling.

"Seems like a very happy place considering how unhappy it was two days ago," Jack stated.

Riddick put the box he was holding on the living room carpet where Brent had placed the other one. "Jack told me about Chase tripping and hitting his head on the coffee table. How's his head doing?"

The twins were both sitting on the floor near Marcy. When Chase heard Riddick talk he turned his head to see the large man. Over his right eye was a large bruise with a healing cut in the middle of it.

Brent smiled. "Better then it was. It doesn't seem to bother him now," he said. "As much as Elaine cried with her brother you would have thought she had fallen too."

Pouting, Jack sat down on the floor with the twins. "I'm glad you are feeling better, Chase," she said to the now one year old boy.

Chase smiled shyly at her for a moment before holding the balloon up over his head.

Jack giggled and put Kayden in a sitting position on the floor. Her hands held him up since he was still too young to sit up alone. "Can you throw the balloon to Kayden?" she asked while continuing to smile at Chase.

Riddick sat on the couch behind Jack watching Chase continue to hold onto the balloon while Brent went to get them all drinks. Trying to throw the balloon, Chase didn't let go of it; he hadn't completely mastered the skill of throwing yet.

Looking down, Jack smiled at little Elaine as she gave Kayden a toy. She quickly walked away to find another and brought it back to the younger baby.

"Thank you, Elaine," Jack told her.

"Looks like Kayden still likes Elaine since he doesn't stop watching her," Brent said handing Riddick a beer.

"Of course he likes her, she gives him toys," Riddick told him.

Jack and Marcy both giggled as Elaine went down on her knees to give Kayden a kiss when she came back with a second toy for him. "Toys and kisses," Marcy added.

Riddick looked at Brent. "That's it. Tell your daughter to stop putting moves on my son."

Brent raised an eyebrow. "Well, if your son wasn't so easy my girl wouldn't be flirting with him."

"Hey you two, I believe Elaine does it because Kayden is such a handsome little man," Marcy said with a big smile.

At that moment Kayden made a small noise when Elaine kissed his head again.

Jack grinned over her shoulder at Riddick. "I think that's his way of saying he likes her too."

More time passed while the kids played and the adults talked. Brent smirked at Jack when she laid Kayden on his back. "So has Kayden learned any tricks yet?" he asked.

"Tricks?" Jack asked, not sure what was meant by that.

Marcy rolled her eyes. "That's his way of asking if he rolls over or sits up alone yet."

Jack started to shake her head, but Riddick spoke. "Yeah he rolled over a couple of days ago."

Looking over at Riddick, Jack tilted her head. "When did he roll over? He's still too young to do that," she stated.

"I had him on the floor on his back when you were in the shower. I walked into the kitchen to make him a bottle and when I came back in he was on his stomach," Riddick told her.

Jack thought he was kidding. "Funny, Riddick," she said. "I haven't seen him do it," she told Brent.

Riddick shrugged, "He only did it that one time so I thought I just dreamed it."

Marcy smiled. "He seems intrigued by the kids, why don't you move back a little and see if he does it now. Maybe if he can't see them he will roll over to find them," she suggested.

Doing so, Jack wanted to see if her son would really roll over since he wasn't fully three months yet.

Getting the balloons again, Marcy got Chase and Elaine moving and laughing. Kayden was lying on his back, kicking his legs and looking at Jack. "I don't think he's going to do it," Jack said sadly.

Brent motioned at Jack. "Move over here, maybe if he doesn't see you then he will roll to find you."

Standing up, Jack moved out of Kayden's sight. Sure enough everyone could see the change in Kayden's behavior. His feet stopped moving and it looked as if he was trying to listen.

"Kayden," Riddick said. "Where'd mommy go?"

Marcy smiled as Kayden's little eyebrows both arched up as he heard his daddy's voice.

Jack sat down next to Riddick on the couch. "Kayden, can you find me? Are you going to be a big boy?" she asked, hoping he would actually roll over.

A few moments later Kayden moved his head to look to the side. Next, they all watched as he tried to move his feet.

"Jack, keep talking," Riddick whispered; his hand moved to her leg.

Jack was unsure what to say, but she spoke with a smile. "Kayden are you going to roll over for us? We want to see you do that."

As if he had been doing it for months, Kayden slowly rolled onto his left side. After lying there briefly he finished his roll and plopped onto his belly.

Brent's mouth fell open while Jack and Marcy both gasped.

"Told you he could do it," Riddick chuckled. "Look at that, our kid is advanced or something," he said proudly.

"Advanced?" Brent asked. "I bet he's going to grow up to be a genius."

Riddick liked that idea, "Good, then he can take care of me in my old age."

Jack was already picking their son up to give him kisses. "My goodness, wait until your doctor hears about this at your next check up," she said, her voice full of excitement.

Clapping her hands while smiling at Chase and Elaine, Marcy spoke, "Yay, Kayden's a big boy now."

Chase and Elaine both grinned at their mommy before clapping their hands like she was doing.

"I think this calls for a celebration of sloppy joes, followed by cake and ice cream," Brent said as he stood from the couch.

Grinning, Riddick took Kayden from Jack. "That sounds like a plan," Riddick said.

Marcy and Brent went into the kitchen to get dinner finished. The twins were playing together quietly and Riddick was laying Kayden back down on his back.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked him.

Riddick smiled, "I just want to see if he will do it two times in a row." He took her hand and stepped back away from Kayden.

His little sock clad feet kicked a few times. "Kayden, baby! Can you roll one more time?" Jack asked and watched as his feet stopped moving. "If you can do it again, daddy will stop making you work for the day," she giggled.

Kayden kicked his feet again before he pouted and started to cry.

Chuckling, Riddick moved over to him. "Aww, you aren't allowed to cry at a party!" He moved the baby in the air. "Or maybe you are just crying because you know you can't have any cake to celebrate," he teased his son before kissing his head.

Once dinner was served up, Jack and Riddick were getting a kick out of watching the twins eat their sloppy joe meat, chunks of pears and some potato salad. Elaine was trying her hardest to scoop the food up with her spoon; where as her brother had given up on trying and was shoveling the food in with his hands.

When they were all done eating, Marcy gave the twins their own chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting.

"Brent bought me a camera just so I could take pictures of this day," Marcy said, smiling.

Jack giggled. "I still need to get a camera as well," she said, even though she knew she wouldn't since one picture already got her into trouble. Looking at the kids, she giggled again as Chase ran his hand over his bare chest. "It's a good thing they are only in their diapers, because I have a feeling they are going to be messy from head to toe."

As they watched Chase dig into his cupcake again, Jack felt Riddick's gentle hand on the back of her neck. She turned to look at him and he smiled at her. She smiled back before looking over to Elaine as she offered her daddy her messy hand to eat from.

Brent nibbled on his little girl's hand, just as Marcy snapped a picture.

When Brent pulled away from Elaine, Chase's hand was up too. "Dada," he called out, following it up with a string of babbles.

"You want me to eat your fingers too?" Brent asked, moving over to Chase's highchair.

As Brent leaned down to nibble on Chase's hand, Chase moved quickly and got chocolate cupcake on his daddy's nose.

Everyone laughed at the little boy's innocent looking face.

Riddick looked down at Kayden, who was reclined back against his daddy's stomach. "Take notes son, because you can only do that to your mommy," he said.

Kayden's foot kicked as he kept watching what was going on.

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><p>Riddick loaded a very tired and cranky Kayden into the truck while Jack waited behind him to get in. Riddick smirked as he buckled the baby into his seat. "Your mommy is looking to play, Kayden. So you need to sleep as soon as we get home," he told his son while feeling Jack's hand on his ass.<p>

Once Kayden was strapped in, he stood up straight and turned to face Jack. "There a reason you are feeling me up in the neighbor's driveway?" he asked in his deep, rough voice.

Jack smiled and nodded in the dim light that was coming from the truck's dome light. "It was in my way so I figured it was there for me to play with," she giggled.

Stepping closer to her, he captured her lips in a heated kiss. Seconds passed as their tongues mated while their arousal for each other grew. Pulling away, they both panted. "You've had me going since you decided your hand needed to be on my neck," she whispered.

"I know, that's why I kept doing it," he whispered before his lips kissed her neck. "I could smell your arousal."

"Let's go home," Jack said, quickly moving around him and getting into the truck. "I've got a surprise for you when we get there."

Riddick put his hand on the passenger door so he could shut it. "A good or bad surprise?" he asked, watching her mouth curl up into a smile.

Licking her lips she grinned, "A sexy surprise."

He quickly shut her door and did his best to walk to the driver's side to get in; it was a little painful to walk since he was now fully erect after being semi-hard all evening as he teased Jack and smelled her need for him.

Getting into the house, Kayden was already screaming. "Listen here, son," Riddick said as he tried to sound soft like Jack did. "Your mommy will make you a bottle, but I can promise you that you aren't starving."

Jack giggled, "Again, this is your attitude coming out of him."

He shook his head. "I'm gonna show you attitude tonight, woman," he said before he playfully growled at her.

After he growled, Kayden's screams became softer. Jack and Riddick both smiled. "I'll make him his bottle and let Cole out while you get him ready for bed and growl at him," she giggled at the look she received from Riddick.

Five minutes later, Jack came into the nightlight lit nursery with a warm bottle. Riddick was already rocking Kayden, who was whimpering and moaning with his eyes closed.

Riddick's goggles were on the top of his head when he looked at the smile on Jack's face. "Not one word, Jack," he stated while holding his hand out for the bottle.

After giving it to him, Jack kissed Riddick's head and then Kayden's. "I wasn't going to say anything, baby." Jack kissed Riddick again as he started to feed their son. "I'm going to go change and get ready for bed!"

Riddick watched her leave the room. "Please don't fight me tonight, Kayden," he whispered, wanting to get to bed with Jack as soon as possible.

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><p>To Riddick's lack of amusement Kayden had fought him. He had finished his normal size bottle and then started to spit out his binky to cry every time he was almost sleeping.<p>

It was almost forty-five minutes later when Riddick walked into their bedroom and froze. His eyes took in Jack as she kneeled on the bed as candle light danced over her body.

"Thought I was going to have to start by myself," she teased, running her hand over her large breasts that were covered in a red lace push up bra. Her hand traveled down over her stomach that was almost back to being flat and toned. On their way down to her red crotch-less panties, slim fingers traced the one stretch mark her son had given her.

Riddick was speechless as he followed her hand with his eyes. His jaw dropped as he focused on the large opening of her panties. "Where did you get those?" he asked, since she had never worn them before.

"From that lingerie store in Springers," she moaned as her fingers touched her clit. "They were going to be a birthday present for you, but…" she paused to moan again. "But I couldn't wait any longer to show you."

Even from the doorway Riddick could see Jack's curls were wet from her arousal. "Good God, Jack," he managed to groan as he stepped closer to her. His shirt landed on the floor as he moved to the bed.

"I take it you like what you see?" she questioned as she looked at the hardness outlined by his pants.

"Fuck yeah I love this view," he said, taking his pants off. "Dip your fingers in, Jack!"

Jack smiled, she loved it when he told her what to do; this way she didn't have to think and the look on Riddick's face turned her on even more. Bringing her finger away from her wetness, she sucked it into her mouth, even though she knew she didn't need to get it wet. The groan it caused from her man was the reaction she had been looking for. Lying down on her back, Jack spread her legs to give him a better look. Her left hand teased her covered nipple while two fingers on her right hand slipped inside of her. She moaned and arched her back at the wonderful feeling those fingers gave her.

Standing at her feet, Riddick's hand was slowly pumping his cock at the same pace as her fingers that worked in and out of her wet pussy. "Enough," he growled while he knelt on the bed between her spread legs.

Gently he removed her fingers; sucking them into his mouth his tongue worked them over before he let them free. Bending down, Riddick spread her lower lips open with his own fingers. His tongue became long and stiff as he slid it somewhat into her hot tunnel. Licking up her slit, Riddick pressed it against her sensitive bud.

Jack rocked her hips up, silently begging him for more. Her legs moved to his shoulders while her hands rested on his head. "Please," she moaned. "I need more, Riddick."

"Baby, how can you be so wet?" he asked, not complaining though since it gave him more of her wonderful juices to lick up.

Finding her clit again with his lips, he sucked with just enough pressure to make her yell his name while she tried to bring her pelvis off the mattress. As soon as he felt her hips begin to move in a way that would bring her closer to cumming, he pushed two fingers in.

Between his mouth working her clit and his fingers inside of her, Jack knew she couldn't last much longer. Words that she couldn't even hear came from her mouth while her brain was screaming at him to touch that perfect treasure that was hidden inside her.

The way her legs were beginning to tremble against his ears told Riddick she was very close to releasing the flood for his fingers and mouth to feel. On the next thrust in, his fingers curled up and rubbed against her g-spot. Riddick almost slipped off the side of the bed as Jack bucked her hips up and came all over his hand.

Her cries of pleasure as she called out his name never sounded better than it did at that moment.

Riddick managed to remove her legs from his shoulders so he could move up her body. He knew there was a wet spot from all the pre-cum his cock had released, but he could wash the blankets tomorrow. Pushing himself up above her, he gazed down at Jack's limp, sweat glistened body. Her eyes were closed, but her beautiful smile told him she loved what he did to her.

"I love you, Jack," he whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers and pushed his erection into her.

"Love you too," she managed to pant out before she felt him move her leg to his hip.

Riddick was already slowly sliding in and out of his love. It never ceased to amaze him how she managed to stay as tight as the first night he made love to her. "Can you cum again for me, Jack?" he asked against her shoulder, laying light kisses along her flushed skin.

His lips and teeth felt like Heaven to her. She did her best to say yes, but it only came out as a moan. Jack could tell where he was headed while his kisses trailed lower. She arched her breasts up, hissing in pleasure when his mouth sucked on her pebbled nipple through the rough lace.

Every time he pumped into her, the lace on the side of the panties seemed to kiss his shaft and to Riddick it felt great; almost like Jack's nails when she would hold him straight so she could sink down to ride him. He nibbled on that nipple before giving the other one the same treatment.

"Harder, Riddick," Jack said before she groaned as his teeth tightened a little harder around her.

Riddick let go of her abused breast and pushed himself up higher onto his hands. "You're so fucking hot, Jack," he panted.

Jack wrapped both legs around his waist as he started to piston into her harder than before. Her fingers moved down over the lace panties and started to rub her hard clit.

Dropping his head back against his shoulders, Riddick gritted his teeth. "I can't," he started to say; wanting her to know he couldn't last much longer.

Working her fingers harder against herself, she moaned. Butterflies started to swirl in her lower region. "Cum in me, Riddick," she breathlessly told him.

Her words combined with the friction from the lace, her heat and her walls clamping down around him pushed Riddick over the edge. His balls tightened, his cock twitched and his ecstasy roared through the room as his cum raced into her body.

Jack's fingers stopped as soon as her orgasm hit her; it always felt better when he helped bring her the release she craved.

He stayed still as he kept himself inside her; he loved the feeling of the small tremors that always quaked around his spent member. "Amazing, Jack," he mumbled as he bent down to kiss her.

A smile spread across her face when the sensual kiss was broken and Riddick moved to rest beside her. Jack quickly rolled over so she could cuddle against his side.

"I'm taking you back to Springers tomorrow morning," he told her as his eyes drifted shut.

Jack was slowly catching her breath much like Riddick. "Why?" she asked.

"Because that is the hottest fucking gift you have surprised me with in a long time," he chuckled.

Giggling, she nodded against his chest. "I was hoping you would love them. Clearly you did since you didn't even try to get me naked," she said, after all she was still wearing the bra too.

Riddick shook his head. "This time I left the bra on because of how great your nipples look under that lace." He rolled onto his side, making Jack move to her back. "Look at them," he half whispered while propping himself up on one elbow and then grazed his thumb over the top of the bra. "They are just begging to be played with while they are caged up like that."

She licked her lips when she felt him cup her breast in his hand. They both loved the fact that her breasts stayed larger then normal even after she quit nursing Kayden. "If you keep messing with me like that then you will have to finish what you started," she warned him.

Chuckling, he quickly dropped his head and sucked on her covered nipple again. As he felt her arch up into his mouth his hand slipped under her body to fondle her ass.

Feeling both his mouth and hand on her, Jack knew his intentions were to fuel the fire he purposely started.

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

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><p><strong>Feed back is my addiction. It's like candy, but better! :) Feel free to leave me some!<br>**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

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><p>It had only been a couple of days since the twins had turned one, but Jack and Marcy were spending some time together again while the guys worked. Since it was a beautiful sunny day, the two mothers decided to take the kids for a walk.<p>

"I haven't talked it over with Robbie yet, but I was wondering if you and Brent would take care of the horses for us for a few days," Jack said as she pushed Kayden's stroller down the dirt road that they lived on.

Marcy was pushing Chase and Elaine in a double stroller. Even with the extra weight, the stroller was surprisingly easy to push on the dirt and gravel. "I don't see why we couldn't," she said with a smile. "When would you want us to do that?"

Turning around at their normal point, they started the thirty minute walk back towards their houses. "I would say we will leave on Saturday morning and come back Wednesday afternoon," Jack told her; she had made sure Riddick had no deliveries to make during that time.

"Cool. Is this a trip for Robbie's birthday?" Marcy asked as she stopped to cover Elaine's legs since she had fallen asleep and would now leave the blanket on.

Jack smiled, "Yeah. He made my birthday so special that I want to take him back to the cabin that we visited last year. I thought a nice relaxing get away would be fun for both of us."

Giggling, Marcy started to walk again. "The last time you two went to the cabin, you told me that's where you relaxed enough to make Kayden," she reminded Jack.

Blushing, Jack turned her head and looked across the road into the woods. "Trust me, we won't be relaxing that much, Marcy!" she giggled.

Marcy shrugged. "I'm sure you learned your lesson, young lady," both women laughed at that.

They kept walking as Jack described the cabin and how Riddick's friend was nice enough to let them use it when they felt the urge to get away for a while. "We've only been there that one time, but I think it would be good for us to take a little family vacation," Jack said, stopping briefly to make sure Kayden's face wasn't directly in the sun.

As Chase reclined back against the stroller seat, he tipped his juice bottle up and drank the last few sips from the nipple. When he realized it was empty, he did what he always did: tossed it.

Marcy sighed as she stopped walking and bent over to pick it up. "I wish you would learn to say 'done' instead of throwing your bottles," she told her son as he grinned at her.

Jack smiled, "I've never noticed how pretty your wedding rings were until the sunlight just caught them."

Looking down at her rings, Marcy smiled. "Thank you. Brent picked them out for me the day he asked me to marry him," Marcy replied while starting to push the stroller again. "Have you and Robbie ever talked about getting married?"

Glancing over at her friend, Jack thought about the question. "No, but we kind of already are married if you think about it," she smiled. "We live together and already have a baby. Plus you have to remember we actually didn't start dating until about two years ago, so we haven't been together that long."

Shrugging, Marcy looked at Jack. "Time doesn't matter. What matters is if you two love each other enough to commit to being together for the rest of your lives," she told Jack.

"For me and Robbie it's a little more complicated then just getting married," Jack stated, knowing that Riddick would never be able to sign a marriage agreement like normal couples.

"Well, he can still get you a nice shiny ring so that I can tell you how pretty it is in the sunlight," Marcy giggled.

Jack giggled while she shook her head. "Didn't we go over this on our shopping trip? I'm not a big flashy ring type of woman. If anything I would like a ring that has meaning for both me and Robbie," she said and looked at Marcy again.

Marcy nodded and grinned. "Like you would refuse to take a big flashy ring if Robbie brought you home one," Marcy said as they stopped at the end of her driveway.

In the distance, quiet hammering noises could be heard; hard lead against tin from the sounds of it.

It was Jack's turn to shrug. "No I wouldn't turn anything down that Robbie gave to me, but even he knows I don't wear jewelry," she said, smiling because even though she didn't like much jewelry, she still loved the necklace that Riddick had given to her last year for her birthday.

"Okay, so no flashy ring, but what about that vow from Robbie where he tells you that he will forever be faithful and love only you?" Marcy asked.

Jack looked down at Kayden who was lying down in the stroller quietly looking up at the trees that hung over the road above them. "Throughout my life I've learned that sometimes what I have is all that I need. I don't really need to hear that vow from Robbie, because I already know that he will never hurt me and that he will always love me," she said, looking up from Kayden to Marcy. "Besides, he knows that if he ever cheated on me he wouldn't be able to do it again," Jack said, seriously.

Marcy giggled and nodded, she completely understood what Jack was saying.

Turning, Jack started to push Kayden towards her own driveway. "I'll see you tomorrow, Marcy," she called over her shoulder.

* * *

><p>Looking back at Riddick, Brent shook his head. "Why haven't you and Jack gotten married yet?" Brent asked as he put the final nail into the barn's new tin roof.<p>

Riddick sighed tiredly as he sat down where he had been pounding in his nails. "What is with you thinking that Jack and I need to be married?"

Brent sat down too; since Riddick had helped Brent get his trackers running, Brent was helping Riddick get a new roof on his barn. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to answer a question with a question?"

Chuckling, Riddick wiped his sweaty forehead with a small hand towel. "No. And to answer your question, why do we need to get married?" he asked as he turned to look up at the sky.

"It's just that from what Marcy and I have seen, Jack's a great woman and mother. Don't you want to let everyone know she's taken, Robbie?" Brent asked while putting the hammer he had used back into the tool kit. "Aren't you afraid some other guy will come win Jack's heart?"

The last question made Riddick laugh loudly. "Trust me, no other guy could handle my Jack," he stated before standing up. "Besides," Riddick started to say as he picked up the boxes of unused nails. "Everyone in town knows that Jack and I are together. You don't need a piece of paper and rings to make it known that two people belong to each other." Riddick thought back to the kid at the grocery store, the one that assumed he and Jack were married. He also didn't feel like reminding Brent that he and Jack could never legally get married.

Brent nodded. "I know that you don't need a marriage agreement to be together, but at the same time I think all women would like to know that their partner loves them enough to make it official. Don't you think?" he asked as he started to climb down the ladder with one tool kit.

Watching Brent disappear down the ladder made Riddick shake his head. "In case you haven't noticed, Jack's not a normal woman," he said with a grin as he started down the ladder with the rest of the tools. "She's…"

"Special!" Jack said, finishing Riddick's sentence for him.

Riddick stepped off the ladder and grinned at her. "Special is the exact word I was going to use," he winked at her.

Jack walked over to Riddick with Kayden leaned backwards against her chest as she carried him. "For some reason I don't believe you," she giggled quietly before kissing his lips. "What were you two talking about anyway?"

Before Brent could answer, Riddick spoke up. "Nothing, just talking about the wonderful women in our lives," he grinned.

Rolling her eyes, Jack looked down at their son, who was looking up at his daddy. "Uh oh, Kayden, I think your daddy is fibbing," she said and smiled when Kayden kicked his little feet that had small white shoes on them.

"Anything else you need help with today, Robbie?" Brent asked as he walked into the barn to put the tools back in their place.

Riddick followed him. "No, I think I'm going to call it a day," he said. "Thanks for the help, I appreciate it," he clapped Brent on the back. "I would have been up there for another five or six hours if I was putting the roof on alone."

Brent nodded. "Well, it's the least I can do since you helped me get my stuff working," he said as they stepped back outside where Jack was still standing. "Thanks for the muffins this morning, Jack. They were excellent," Brent told her.

Smiling, Jack shrugged. "I knew that I had to feed him some type of mid-morning snack or he would have been cranky. I figured that meant I should feed you too, Brent," she giggled as Riddick stepped towards her.

Brent pointed at Riddick. "Now that's funny. She called you cranky," Brent laughed as he started to walk backwards to his truck.

Riddick gently poked Jack's side and called after Brent. "She was talking about the boy getting cranky, not me!"

Opening the door to his truck, Brent shook his head. "Don't lie. I've seen first hand how bad your mood gets when you haven't ate in three hours," he laughed and got into his truck.

Closing the small gap between them, Riddick leaned down and kissed her lips again. "Why do you insist on telling everyone that I'm cranky and moody?" he asked when they broke the kiss for air.

Jack giggled at the coo that came from between them. "I only tell Brent and Marcy that because as Brent stated, he's seen how cranky you get!" she giggled again at the look at Riddick's face. "If you are going to stare me down, can we go to the house so that you can take your goggles off?"

Grinning, Riddick cocked his head to the side a little. "We can head to the house, only if you promise to tell Brent and Marcy that I don't get cranky," he said, trying to give her a pout like she gives him.

Jack laughed and shook her head, "I'll tell them that if you tell me what you and Brent were really talking about."

Riddick leaned down so that Kayden could see him better. He grinned at Kayden and chuckled as Kayden's toothless smile grew bigger. "Tell mommy that Brent wants to marry her," he said in a playful voice to Kayden.

Looking down at him, Jack sighed. "He does not want to marry me. Now what were you two really talking about?" she asked again.

Standing up straight, Riddick crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm serious. I'm beginning to think that Brent is one of those guys that marry like four or five wives," he said.

"I sure hope that if that is the case, then you will fight him off for me," Jack stated as she turned to see Cole trotting towards them, dragging his broken chain behind him. "Oh no, Riddick, he broke another chain."

Riddick groaned. "Cole, how the hell do you do it, boy?" he asked, squatting down to pet the dog when Cole got close to them.

Jack looked at the end of the long chain that Cole had been dragging. "Looks like he might have broken the runner line he was on. Because the chain looks to be the right length and not broken," she said.

Looking up at her from his knelt down position, Riddick smiled. "Ever notice that he only breaks loose when we aren't near him?"

She nodded, "Yeah, but like you said before, if we are both very busy doing something we can't keep an eye on him. I don't want him to wander off and get hurt."

"Maybe we should try not tying him up and see what happens. I don't want him to get hurt either, but the way he keeps breaking loose, I'm afraid he will hurt himself from doing that," Riddick stated as he unhooked the loose chain from Cole's collar.

Jack nodded again. "Let's try it. If it doesn't work then we will figure some other way to tie him up when we can't watch him," she said with a smile.

Cole's tail was stirring up dust as he wagged his tail back and forth against the dirt.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Riddick and Cole came inside from putting the horses away for the night. Cole followed Riddick into the kitchen with his tongue hanging out and his breath coming in pants.<p>

"Get water, Cole," Riddick told the dog and watched him trot over to his food dishes.

Riddick reached into the fridge to get himself a drink. It was then that he noticed how quiet the house was. Taking his glass of juice with him, he headed up the stairs to find Jack and Kayden.

Looking into the nursery, Riddick smiled seeing Kayden lying on the floor on his play mat. The young baby was looking up at the toys that dangled above him; soft coos came from him, as he kicked his legs and watched the toys.

Riddick looked from Kayden over to Jack who was sitting on the floor near the dresser that held Kayden's clothes. He watched her place some of Kayden's outfits into a duffel bag that looked to be partially filled with diapers and other baby things.

"Going somewhere, Jack?" he asked quietly as he leaned against the door frame.

Jack looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. "Possibly," she said and turned back to the task at hand.

Walking into the room, Riddick laid down on his stomach next to Kayden. "Gonna tell me where we're going?" he asked and smiled at Kayden who had turned his head to look at his daddy.

"Possibly," she said, while trying not to smile. "But who said you were going too?"

Riddick looked back at her. He watched the way she unfolded every clothing item she took out of the dresser, held it up to look at, before refolding it and placing it into the duffle bag. "I figure since you seem to be taking Kayden some place that I'd go too. You know, just make sure he was a good boy for you," he told her.

Kayden cooed at his daddy before kicking his legs some more, his arms moving almost frantically.

Moving so she was facing them, Jack zipped up the full bag. "If you insist on going as well, you need to pack what you want to bring with you. We will be gone for about five days," she stated before crawling over to them.

Riddick smirked at her when she lay down in front of him, so that they were face to face. "Where we going, Jack?" he asked again.

Leaning forward a little she kissed his lips. "To the cabin for your birthday, I already called your friend, he said it was cool with him if we went," she informed him.

Licking his lips, he smiled at her. "When were you going to tell me we were going to the cabin?" he asked.

Jack giggled and turned her attention to Kayden, who was now lying on his side. "When we were loading the ship up," she grinned as Kayden rolled fully onto his belly.

Grinning along with her, Riddick reached over and rubbed his son's small back with his large hand. "I'll ask Brent if he can watch the horses for us," he mentioned.

Jack shook her head while moving Kayden's arms out from under his body. "Don't need to. Marcy already said they would watch them for us after we leave Saturday morning," she stated and looked up to see Riddick smiling at her.

"Since you seem to have this all planned out, what else should I know?" he asked.

Shrugging, she placed her hand over his on the floor between them, "All you need to know is that you don't need to worry about anything besides making sure the ship is fueled up and ready for take off." She used her free hand to move Kayden's small mirror toy closer to him so he could look at himself.

Riddick picked up Jack's hand and kissed the back of it. "I'm willing to let you worry about everything, on one condition," he told her as he kissed her hand again.

Jack looked at him and smiled. "What condition is that?" she asked while scooting forward a little so that she could kiss his lips without straining her neck to reach him.

"The condition is that you do your best to keep your hands off me while we are swimming at the waterfall," he said in a serious tone, but was grinning.

She couldn't help but to laugh at him. "As hard as that will be for me, I promise to do my best," she continued to laugh.

Laughing with her he glanced over at Kayden, who was looking at his parents with wide eyes. Riddick looked back at Jack and smiled, "Feel free to take advantage of me any place else, but just not in the water."

Nodding she gave up the laughing and focused more on kissing Riddick again. "And just think, on the way to the cabin this time, I'll be awake more so you don't have to get your cargo pants all gross," she said before licking her lips.

He groaned at the memory of getting her off with his hand and then cumming in his pants just from thrusting against her clothed ass. "As good as it felt, I prefer to keep my pants clean," he smirked.

* * *

><p>For Jack, Saturday morning didn't come soon enough. While she was packing their coolers with the food they were bringing, Riddick was feeding the horses and putting them out for the day. The night before Riddick had gone over with Brent what needed to be done with the horses each day; Riddick and Jack both knew their horses were in great hands.<p>

As Jack pushed the coolers onto the front porch, she noticed Cole trying to nose his way into the bag that held some of his toys. "No, Cole," she told the grown dog. "If you take the toys out now then you won't have anything to play with at the cabin."

Cole stopped what he was doing and laid down beside the bag with a loud whine. The loud noise didn't seem to bother Kayden as he relaxed in his moving swing.

Jack giggled as she continued to move the bags to the front porch. "Don't whine, you big baby. I'll give you one to play with when we get onto the ship," she said and heard Cole's tail thump against the wooden floors.

Just then Riddick came walking through the wooded trail which took him to the barn. "The boys are fed and watered. I swear, Jack, they are ignoring me since they know I'm leaving," he chuckled as he stepped onto the porch with her.

She nodded, since she knew they could be very feisty when they knew change was coming. "I won't even say that they act just like you," she giggled. "Everything we are taking, besides Cole and Kayden, are out here." She gestured towards the bags and coolers.

Riddick looked at everything with a sigh. "I don't remember taking this much stuff with us last time," he said as he counted two coolers, one storage container with more food, another container with odds and ends that they would need, five duffel bags, a stroller, a portable play pen and a bouncy seat.

Raising an eyebrow at him, she nodded. "That's because we now have one extra person that we are taking, along with a full grown dog; who thinks he should be able to eat ten pounds of food in four days," she reminded him.

Picking up one heavy cooler, Riddick started to pack the truck bed full of their stuff. "Don't forget about the woman who thinks we need to actually pack clothes," he made a snorting noise like she did. "Can't figure out why she thinks we will actually have time to put clothes on."

As soon as he got the cooler into the truck, Riddick was hit in the back with Cole's stuffed football. He turned just in time to see a happy dog jumping over the duffel bags and racing after his ball. "You are going to pay for that, Jack!"

Jack stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't know what you are talking about, Riddick!" she replied.

A short time later Jack stood in the ship with Kayden sitting in his car seat at her feet; Riddick had gone to park the truck near the office of the ship yard. When Riddick came inside and closed the ship's door, Jack smiled at him.

"I didn't think about this before. Where do we buckle Kayden in at during takeoff and landing?" she asked.

Riddick looked down at the car seat, where Kayden was sleeping. "That's a good question," he smirked, he wasn't about to tell her what remodeling he had already done. "I guess you can hold the car seat on your lap and loop the belt through the handle on the side. That way you are both buckled in," he mentioned.

"Do you know if it would be hard to put in an extra seat in this ship, because he really does need a seat of his own," Jack said as she picked the car seat up and followed Riddick to the front of the ship.

Riddick stopped as they entered the cockpit and let Jack enter the smaller room first. "Did you get Cole's cage strapped down in back?" he asked as he watched her glance around for a moment.

She nodded. "Yeah, he wasn't happy about being left back there alone, but after a couple of whines, he laid down and went to sleep," she told him. "Since you didn't answer my question, I take it that it will be very hard to put in a third seat." Pausing she looked at Riddick. "Why is there this large space here that wasn't here before?" Jack questioned when she gestured towards the area behind the co-pilot's seat

Grinning, Riddick winked at her as he gently moved her closer to the pilot's seat. He moved in front of her in order to press a small green button that he had installed. Immediately after the button was pushed, a hole hissed open in the empty space Jack had noticed and vibrations started to flow through the floor as a third chair began to slowly rise up.

Jack gasped as she watched the sight in front of her. "Holy shit, Riddick," she said, not truly believing what she was seeing.

"That'll be five credits to the swearing jar, Jack!" he chuckled.

She shook her head. "I'll put in ten, because this is crazy. When did you put this in?" she asked, knowing that she hadn't been on the ship since she was about four months pregnant.

Picking up the car seat, Riddick began to strap Kayden into the third chair. "I knew with our child coming, we would need to have a few extra things in the ship. I looked at several ships while on different planets, but I didn't like them," he told her. He stood up from getting Kayden situated and turned to smile at her. "But truth is, I like my girl better."

"You've had her forever and she's treated you wonderfully, so I can understand you not wanting to trade her in," Jack said, still smiling from all the time and effort Riddick had spent to make it possible for them to function normally while having the new addition to their family.

He nodded, "That's right. So I decided to build in a new chair that I can hide out of the way if I need to." Walking over to his chair he sat down and started the ship.

Jack followed his lead and strapped herself into the co-pilot's chair. "You said we needed a few extra things, so else did you do?" she asked.

Riddick winked at her before he radioed the ship yard office to make sure it was clear for him to take off. Once in the air he glanced over to her. "My utility room is now in the engine room and Kayden has a crib that won't move during turbulence," he informed her.

"He has his own room too?" Jack was completely shocked.

Nodding again, he began to set the course for the planet that the cabin was on. "Gotta make sure my family is well taken care of, hun," he told her.

* * *

><p>A little over eight hours later, Cole ran through the landing field sniffing everything he could find. Jack looked at the open area around them and smiled at Riddick, "Look at all of the flowers."<p>

Riddick nodded. "Lots more this time than before," he said as he carried a duffel bag over his shoulder and Kayden in his car seat.

Jack had picked up the portable crib along with the baby's duffel bag. They walked over the small hill and down to the cabin. As they neared the cabin Jack noticed something different about it.

"Were those solar lights here last time we were here?" she asked, Riddick. "They look just like the ones we have at home."

Shaking his head, Riddick kept walking. "No they weren't, but you're right, they do look like the ones we have."

Just then Jack looked over towards where they had the fire last time and she looked at Riddick. "That looks like the bench we have near our fire pit," she stated.

Riddick couldn't stop himself from chuckling any longer. "There are quite a few things that are like what we have at the house, Jack," he said with a smile as he unlocked the cabin door.

"Why?" she simply asked, not understanding why Riddick's contact would make things like their house.

Setting the car seat in the middle of the kitchen table, Riddick put the duffel bag down before taking the play pen from Jack to set it up. "Why?" he repeated. "Because I wanted it to feel like a home away from home," he said.

Jack put the bag she had down and placed her hands on her hips. "But why would you do that?" she asked. "Doesn't he want it to seem like his own place?"

Riddick got the play pen up in record time and turned to look at her. "Remember a month or so before you had Kayden and I called to let you know I would be a few days late coming home?" he asked, trying to get her to figure it out on her own.

Nodding, she started to get the sheet for the play pen out of the duffel bag so that Kayden could lay on it. "Yeah," Jack said.

He smirked, "Well, the reason I was late was because I had to go see the owner of this place so that I could buy it from him."

Jack gasped. "You bought the cabin?" she asked as her smile grew. "You mean it? You own this place now?"

Stepping closer to her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her lips. "You sure are asking a lot of questions, Jack," he told her with a smile. "And no, I don't own this place…" he started to say.

"But you just said you bought it," she interrupted him.

"Shh," he told her with a wink. "What I was going to say is that I don't own this place, we own it. I made sure to put your name on the deed as well for future reference." Riddick didn't want to say that he put her name on the deed too in case something happened to him, then she could prove that she owned the land if she wanted to sell it or even live there.

Smiling, Jack hugged him. "That is so cool, Riddick!" she told him happily. "But when I called him to ask if we could come here, he didn't tell me you had bought it from him."

Riddick chuckled. "That's because I told him not to say anything to you if you called him. Didn't want someone else to ruin the surprise for me," he said as he pulled away.

Standing there with the sheet still in her hand, Jack watched Riddick open the curtains and windows to their cabin. With a smile, she turned her attention back to getting the play pen ready for their son to use.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

* * *

><p><em><strong>This chapter is rated MA for adult situations. If you are not 18 or do not care for sexual acts of Riddick goodness, then please skip this chapter and come back for chapter 11. Enjoy! <strong>_

* * *

><p>After Riddick finished unpacking the ship, he sat at the table as Jack served him a couple of sandwiches for a late lunch.<p>

"So what should we do first?" Jack asked as she sat down across from him with her own food.

Riddick shrugged while chewing. "Thought you would have it all planned out," he winked at her.

Nodding her head, she smiled. "I do have some plans, but this is your birthday vacation so it's mainly up to you," Jack told him before starting to eat her sandwich.

Finishing his first ham and cheese sandwich, Riddick picked up the second one. "I would like to take a walk to the waterfall at some point tonight," Riddick said while wiggling his eyebrow at her.

Jack laughed quietly, not wanting to wake a very cranky Kayden. "Don't do that!" she smiled. "After all you and I agreed we won't be touching each other while in the water."

Riddick stood to get the bag of chips off the counter. "I know, but we said nothing about touching each other outside of the water," he happily reminded her.

Rolling her eyes, Jack held up her plate indicating she wanted some chips too. "You sure that's safe?" she asked.

"I'm not going almost a week with out touching you, Jack," he told her as he put a large handful of chips on her plate. "And as bad as you've been lately, I doubt you can go that long either."

Jack glared at Riddick before she smiled. "As bad as I've been?" she asked. "Who was the one that insisted on doing it three different times in three different rooms on the ship today?"

Riddick pointed a chip at her. "Your idea for the cockpit, baby," he told her. "So you started it." He shoved the chip into his mouth.

She couldn't help but grin at his statement. "Didn't hear you complain as I sank to my knees between you and the controls," she said.

"No way, that was fucking hot the way you just reached over, undid my pants and got to work," he grinned at the memory. "I'll never complain when you blow me, Jack."

Blushing bright red, Jack reached for her water.

Riddick smirked. "That's right, drink your water to cool yourself down, baby," he teased in his sexy growl of a voice.

Jack sighed. "You are crazy," she told him after taking a drink.

"But you love me," Riddick blew her a kiss.

Shaking her head she spoke, "Not so sure about that right now."

Raising an eyebrow at her words, Riddick nodded. "Remember that the next time you want something from me, baby," he told her.

* * *

><p>A little while later Jack and Riddick stepped out of the cabin. Jack had placed Kayden in a front baby pack on her stomach and smiled as he cooed. She watched Riddick as he started down the trail that led them to the waterfall. Cole was ahead of Riddick and was sniffing everything while he trotted through the woods on the side of the trail.<p>

"You packed your swim trunks this time, right Riddick?" Jack asked him when she caught up to him. As they got about half way to the waterfall she could already hear the rushing water in the distance.

Glancing over his shoulder he gave her a small smirk. "I don't own any trunks, Jack," he reminded her.

Jack's hands were checking to see if Kayden still had both socks on. "You do now," she giggled. "I bought you a pair of speedos," Jack said and stopped in her tracks as Riddick halted to look at her.

"There's no way I'm wearing a speedo even if we are alone," he sternly told her.

She held up her hands as if she was surrendering. "Don't think of it as a Speedo then. Think of it as a banana hammock."

As soon as it came out of Jack's mouth, Riddick was laughing loudly. He moved the fabric bag that had water bottles, a blanket, a large umbrella, towels and extra stuff for Kayden in it to his right hand so he could offer his hand to Jack.

"When you put it like that then I'll wear it even while plowing the fields," he told her before kissing her hand that he was now holding.

Jack giggled, "Fine with me, but if you get a sunburned butt don't come crying to me."

While they continued to walk down the trail holding hands Kayden kicked his feet and made quiet noises behind his fist that was in his mouth.

"Too big, Cole," Riddick said when he noticed the dog trying to drag an over six foot long branch with him as he continued to move towards the opening of the field.

Jack laughed. "He's just helping you find firewood for later," she told Riddick.

Riddick let go of Jack's hand to bend over and pick up a smaller stick for Cole. "Use this one for now instead," Riddick suggested and threw the stick into the open field. "Maybe I'll pick up his offering on the way back."

Stepping into the field, Jack looked around and smiled. "I love this sight and sound," she said as they continued to walk towards the water.

Last time they had been at the waterfall the weather had been hotter, but not by much. The trees around the water pool had been bright green with some year old leaves floating aimlessly in the water. This time as Jack looked around the leaves were just starting to turn pretty colors. Red, yellow and orange filled the spaces between the green on the trees.

"Do you think this planet ever gets snow?" Jack asked while she stepped next to Riddick.

Riddick stood near the large rocks on the edge of the pool. "No planets get snow in this area. Their climates are like Urizane's, except backwards," he smirked.

Jack nodded and looked down at Kayden whose eyes were big as he looked at the falling water in front of them. Thankfully the sound didn't scare him.

A few minutes later Jack laid Kayden on his belly on the blanket that Riddick had spread out in the sun. She looked up at Riddick as he finished getting the large umbrella stuck in the ground so the baby was in the shade.

Riddick walked away and left Jack to take off Kayden's socks which made the little guy more comfortable. "Water's warm. Almost like bath water," Riddick informed her as he took his shirt off.

Jack smiled over to him. "Go on in, I'll go in once you're done," she told him, not wanting to leave the baby unattended.

Riddick nodded while undoing his cargos. He smirked at her as he shoved his pants down over his hips and revealed his boxers. "I'll be honest, baby. I found the speedo in your bag, I was going to put it on for a good laugh, but I didn't think my junk would fit in it."

Laughing, Jack stood from her spot near Kayden. "Oh come on, you aren't that big," she teased.

Before she could even begin to run from him, Jack was grabbed by Riddick and tossed fully clothed into the water. Quickly breaking the surface for air Jack continued to laugh.

"You are so going to get it now," she said to him as she swam towards the shore.

Riddick was sitting on a large rock in his boxers with his feet ankle deep in the water. "That's what you get for calling me small."

Jack swam over and stood in front of him. "I was teasing, Riddick. God knows you are huge and I only said it as a joke," she said while leaning over him; purposely dripping water on him.

As she gave Riddick a kiss to tell him sorry, Cole came over with part of his stick. Riddick looked over at the dog who was now barking at them; he wanted to play.

Picking the stick up, Riddick threw it into the shallow part of the pool. "Fetch it, Cole," he told the dog.

Cole moved to the edge of the water and slowly walked the few feet to retrieve the stick; the water only reached the bottom of his stomach.

Jack smiled at Cole as he brought it back to Riddick. "Throw it a little farther and see if he will swim out to get it," she told Riddick.

Throwing it a little farther this time, Riddick looked back at Jack who had taken her wet shirt off to reveal a black bikini top. As he kept watching her, he smirked, seeing her bend over to pull her wet shorts off. He whistled his approval to her and chuckled as she wiggled her butt in his direction.

Standing at the spot where his paws could still touch the sandy bottom and his head was well above the water, Cole began to bark at the stick as it floated away from him in the pool.

"Go get it," Riddick said and walked out into the deeper water.

"I'm sure we will have him swimming all over this pool by the time we leave," Jack said while she picked Kayden up.

Jack brought Kayden, who was wearing a little tank top and matching shorts, over to the water. She sat down so that the water was just covering her legs. Placing Kayden into a sitting position on her lap, she watched his little legs move after getting used to the feel of the warm water.

Riddick threw the stick more towards the shore and watched Cole go after it. "Maybe if he sees you swimming then he will follow you out," Riddick said.

Shrugging, Jack put some water onto Kayden's hands. She then turned her attention to Riddick as he disappeared under the water and came up near the waterfalls. "We'll have to teach Kayden to swim as soon as he can understand it," she told him loudly so that he could hear her over the falling water.

He nodded before he started to swim back over to them. "Kayden," he called out, trying to get his son's attention.

Kayden turned his head slowly and focused on his daddy as Riddick came closer. He smiled back when Riddick smiled at him, but his smile faded when his daddy sank beneath the water.

Jack gasped. "Where did daddy go?" she asked while looking down at Kayden.

A moment later Riddick's head popped up in the shallow water by Jack's feet. Kayden jumped a little before he grinned and laughed quietly.

Hearing his laugh made both Riddick and Jack laugh as well.

"That's funny," Jack said. "He jumped and then laughed at you."

Riddick grinned and straddled Jack's straight legs before he crawled forward. When he reached Kayden, Riddick gently nibbled on the baby's arm; the baby cooed and kicked his feet harder.

* * *

><p>Later that night Riddick gave Kayden a bath while Jack and Cole relaxed in the main room of the cabin. Jack had a fire going that gave the main room and the kitchen enough light for her to see with, but not too much that Riddick had to wear his goggles.<p>

Riddick came out of the bedroom with Kayden in his arms. He smirked as the baby cooed while wrapped in only a towel. "Did you hear him in there, baby?" he asked. "He was telling me all kinds of stuff."

Smiling, Jack reached for Kayden after Riddick sat on the blanket with her. "I did hear him. I'm sure he was promising to sleep through the night since he didn't nap well today," she said from her spot on the blanket near the fireplace.

Handing her the clean diaper Riddick laid Kayden down in front of her. "Doubt that will happen," he chuckled.

As soon as Jack opened the diaper to put on her son, he was doing his best to roll. Jack smiled and quickly put the diaper on him. "I bet he will be crawling in no time," she said while helping Kayden roll over so he wouldn't fuss anymore.

Riddick grinned, "Time to put up gates." He remembered that Brent and Marcy had told them everything the twins had gotten into when they started to crawl.

Jack nodded and watched Kayden lay on his forearms and brought his chest off the blanket. "Yeah and that means he might cry more if we step over the gate and leave him behind."

"And if there isn't a gate up he will be crawling to follow us," Riddick said. "Wonder if he will do that solider crawl?"

She looked at Riddick. "Solider crawl?" she questioned.

Riddick explained as he started to take his boots off. "You know that crawl where the baby uses his arms to pull himself along and kind of drags his body behind him."

After hearing his description it dawned on Jack what Riddick was talking about. "Oh you mean commando crawling," she giggled and began to get Kayden's jammies on him.

Shrugging, Riddick set his boots to the side. "Same thing," he said.

Rolling Kayden back onto his back, Jack did her best to get him into his pajamas. As she was about to zip the zipper up, Kayden began to cry because Jack wouldn't let him roll back over yet.

Riddick frowned hearing Kayden cry. "Hey, there's no reason to cry. If you don't let your mommy keep you warm then you really will have something to cry about," he told his son as he picked the now clothed baby up. "It gets cooler here at night and for only being about two and a half months old you don't stay covered up."

Kayden stopped crying, but kept the pout on his face as he looked at his daddy's face.

Jack giggled. "Look at that that pout. Are you really going to pretend you are sad?" she asked Kayden.

The miniature Riddick turned his head to look at his mommy. The fire light danced on his shined eyes in the same way that the light was reflecting off Riddick's.

"So beautiful," Jack whispered at the sight.

At the same time both father and son smiled at Jack.

Riddick looked back to Kayden. "Tell mommy you love her," he told his son as he held Kayden in a sitting position by putting his big hands on Kayden's sides under his arms.

Looking back to his daddy, Kayden yawned real big before cooing loudly.

Giggling, Jack stood up. "Aww, I love you too, baby boy," she said when she went to get Kayden's night time bottle. "You be a good boy and drink your bottle so that daddy and mommy can have some alone time once you go to sleep."

About an hour later, Kayden was sleeping in his playpen in the bedroom with Cole near by. Riddick and Jack were cuddled up together on the floor in the main room near the fireplace.

"I'm glad you planned this, Jack," Riddick whispered to her; his arm that was around her rubbed up and down her back.

Jack lifted her head from his chest and kissed the side of his neck. "Me too. I love spending time with just you." She laid her head back down on his chest and placed her leg over his. "Thank you for making this our special place. It means a lot to me that you do things like this for our family, Riddick."

Riddick was quiet for a few moments, but Jack could tell that he was thinking about something.

"Riddick?" She paused to look up at his face. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

Looking down at Jack, Riddick gave her a small smile. "I was just thinking about something Brent and I talked about earlier this week," he admitted.

Jack smiled. "Would this something you two talked about have anything to do with him wanting to be with me?" she giggled.

Riddick laughed and nodded. "Yeah, but I've got a confession to make," he stated. He moved his hands and helped Jack straddle his waist.

Smiling she looked down at him. "What's the confession?" she asked while linking their hands together and placing them on the floor above Riddick's head.

"I lied, he didn't say he wanted to be with you," he said while trying to lean up to kiss her lips.

She made a fake gasping sound as she leaned up so he couldn't kiss her. "No way. You mean to tell me that wasn't what you two were talking about on the barn roof?" she asked pretending to be shocked.

Nodding, Riddick smirked. "Shocking, I know, but we were really talking about me and you getting married." He watched as she sat up straighter.

Jack's demeanor changed from playful to serious. "Oh," she said and let go of his hands. "Why were you two talking about that?"

He placed his hands on her smooth legs and slowly ran them up from her knees to her shorts. "He asked if I was worried that some other man would come win your heart," he mentioned.

Frowning, she shook her head. "That won't happen, Riddick. I love you and would never leave you for another man. Regardless if we are married or not, I just want to be with you," Jack said, just wanting to set his mind at ease.

Riddick sighed at how fast she talked; she only did that when she was worried or nervous. "I know, but don't you want a big diamond on your finger like Marcy?" he asked and placed his right hand on her left one, his finger gently rubbing her ring finger.

Jack took a moment to watch the way his eyes looked at her with all the love in the world. "Sometimes I do, but I don't want one if the marriage agreement can't say your real name on it."

Riddick frowned just like she had moments earlier as he thought about their options. He did hate the fact that she was right; he would never be able to marry her under Richard B. Riddick. "Why don't we do a commitment ceremony?" he suggested. "That way we won't have to sign a marriage agreement, but we can still tell people we are married."

Looking down at him, Jack shook her head. Carefully she moved off him and sat on the blanket. "I don't want to do this just because Brent and Marcy are working together to get us married," she spoke quietly while looking into the fire.

Sitting up Riddick cupped her face so she would look at him. "When have I ever done anything just because someone else wanted me to?" he asked her.

Jack shrugged a little. "Never, unless I bribe you with sex."

Chuckling, Riddick nodded. "Exactly and I'm sure as hell not going to start doing anything for someone other than you now."

She placed her hands over his now that they were on her knees. "Do you really want to be committed to me for the rest of your life, Riddick?" she asked; this wasn't the first time she prayed he would say yes to her.

"Jack, I've been stuck with you for the last twelve years and that already feels like forever to me. Ow!" he chuckled when she playfully smacked his leg. "We might as well make it semi-official."

When Jack just smiled at him, Riddick leaned forward and kissed her lips. "I love you, Jack. So I guess I need to ask: Even though I can be stubborn, hard headed and messy do you want to be committed to me for the rest of your life?" He licked his lips while he watched her face for a reaction.

"Yes, Riddick, even though you are all of that and more I want to be yours for the rest of my life," she whispered as one tear slipped down her cheek. Jack leaned forward and kissed him softly.

The kiss soon turned passionate and they kissed until both of them pulled away for much needed air. "You make me incredibly happy, Jack," he said as he slipped his hands around her back.

"Me too, Riddick," she said before reaching down to lift her tank top off.

Leaning forward he kissed her neck, making a point to nibble on the spot below her ear that always made his Jack moan. _Mine, _he thought when he heard the moan pass her lips. "I love you," he mumbled before helping her lay down. He lay down next to her and captured her lips with his once again. Reaching a hand under her to unhook her bra his mouth continued down her jaw to gently assault her neck and shoulders.

Jack loved the way Riddick's mouth moved across her skin. No matter how hot his breath felt against her, cool shivers always ran down her spine.

Once her bra was off, her hands rested on his stubbly head. "You are torturing me, baby," she moaned.

Loving the way her skin tasted, Riddick didn't want to respond with words. Instead he groaned deep in his throat right as he added a bit of pressure on her pebbled peak with his teeth.

Jack moved her hands from his head to his back. She clutched his shirt in both fists and began to pull his shirt up.

Reluctantly he finally released her nipple. His eyes took in the sight of his half naked woman beneath him when he sat up to remove his shirt.

After throwing his shirt to the side, Riddick ran his hands slowly up Jack's warm legs. "You need to wear these shorts more around the house," he told her; he loved how extra long her legs appeared to be when she wore these shorts that didn't even come half way down to her knees. "Every time I look at you I picture your long legs wrapped around my waist as I'm driving you wild with my cock."

"I promise to wear them more if you drive me wild like that right now," she said with a smile while already working to unbutton her shorts.

Riddick grinned and pulled her shorts and panties off. "Yes, ma'am," he quickly responded.

Catching her eyes with his own, he held that contact as his tongue slowly darted out to lick his lips. Moving onto his stomach, Riddick ran his thumb over her already puffy lower lips.

"I wish you could see how beautiful you look from this angle," Riddick whispered, not wanting to interrupt the special moment as he looked up her body and to her eyes.

Spreading her lower lips apart with his hands he licked a path from the bottom of her vagina to her clit. He loved the noises he could get out of her when he did this to her. After working her now engorged clit until she was withering and rotating her hips under him. Riddick began to dip his tongue into her; going as deep as he could manage.

"Oh God, Riddick," Jack moaned.

Riddick took that as a good sign; removing his tongue he inserted two of his thick fingers inside her. Thrusting them in and out he made a point to curl them up as he pushed them in. Each time he rubbed against her hidden button, Jack would arch her back up from the floor.

With his free hand he began to undo his pants while he continued to work his magic with the other one. If he didn't know better he would think his cock was jealous of his fingers. Every time he would push his fingers in, his hard erection would throb and leak more pre-cum.

"God, Riddick, that feels so good," she cried out. "I wanna cum with you." Jack looked at him, almost begging him with her eyes.

"How can I say no to those eyes?" he asked, finally removing his hand from her wet pussy.

He sucked his fingers into his mouth, getting a second taste of her. Quickly he took his pants off and positioned himself between her legs. Looking down between their bodies he watched the angry red mushroom head of his erection disappear as he pushed into her. When he bottomed out he felt a wave of warm wet fluid sneak out around him and soak his balls.

When Riddick began the slow and steady pace that his fingers had started they both moaned. He placed his hands on either side of her head to keep him from crushing her small frame with all his weight.

Looking above her, Jack smiled at Riddick's thrown back head. Riddick's muscles seemed to ripple more as the fire light danced over his body. His eyes were closed as she dragged her nails up his torso and stopped at his pecks.

Biting her bottom lip Jack used her fingers to gently pinch her lover's nipples. This caused him to groan loudly and momentarily loose his rhythm.

Taking her eyes off his now very erect nipples, Jack locked eyes with Riddick again. His eyes seemed darker than moments before; which was never a bad thing during these situations.

Even though she already knew the answer, Jack couldn't help but ask, "You like that?"

Riddick growled at her as he began to pound into her harder than before.

Jack watched him lick his lips as he turned his concentration to her bouncing breasts.

Removing her hand from his chest, Jack placed it on her own breast. She began to moan as she rolled her own nipple between her fingers. Pulling roughly on it she arched her breasts up when Riddick groaned above her.

It never seemed to fail, their soft slow love making always turned into a lot more; something Jack would never complain about. It was her turn to gasp when Riddick brought one hand over and began to pinch and roll one of her nipples between his fingers. Between her soft fingers on one nipple and Riddick's rough fingers on the other Jack began to give into the sensations.

It only took a few more hard thrusts before Jack was pushing her breasts up again to meet their hands. Her soaked pussy clamped around his cock as her orgasm ripped through her body. As the room began to blur, she closed her eyes tightly and did her best not to scream out in ecstasy.

Riddick braced himself with both hands again before throwing his head back and shooting his hot cum deep into her. His thrusts stopped as he grunted and held himself firmly in her pulsating tunnel. The small quivers her pussy did always made his orgasm end that much better.

Cupping his face, Jack pulled Riddick down for a kiss. They were both sweaty and out of breath, but as they pressed their bodies together that didn't matter to them.

Riddick pulled his softened member out so he could lie beside her. "That was good," he smirked.

Jack kissed his chest before she laid her head there. "I love the look you get when I play with your nipples," she smiled and then giggled when he playfully smacked her ass. "You sure you want to commit yourself to me knowing that I know your secret fetish?"

Riddick grunted and gave her a nod. "As long as you don't tell anyone about it, I think I can live with you knowing," he said, running his fingers lightly up her spine.

Shivering from his fingers, she gently kissed the nipple closest to her. Smiling again she made a promise to him, "Your secrets are always safe with me, my dear husband."

Both of them laughed quietly as Riddick rolled over to cuddle with her better.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><strong><em>Thank you to my wonderful beta Evilgrin. All mistakes found after she went over it are my own...or Google docs for being such a jerk to me lately! ;)<em>** **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

* * *

><p>Riddick opened his eyes and listened to the quiet cabin. The clock on the wall read a quarter passed five.<p>

At first he wasn't sure what had made him wake up, after all him and Jack had only went to bed a few hours prior. Jack was sleeping with her back snug against his chest and Kayden was silent except for his breathing.

Closing his eyes again, Riddick tried to fall back to sleep. It was only a few moments later when he heard what must have been the reason he awoke in the first place: from the playpen came a soft coo followed by a little louder one.

Laying there motionless, Riddick listened to Kayden as the little one rolled over and began to coo to himself. For almost fifteen minutes Riddick enjoyed the sounds of his son talking to whatever it was he seemed to be captivated by.

As soon as Kayden had had enough alone time he gave a soft cry that made Riddick quickly unwrap his arms from Jack and move to get the baby.

Looking down into the playpen, which was at the end of the bed, Riddick saw Kayden on his belly with his head pressed firmly against the net siding. "Shh," he whispered to his son as he quickly pulled on a pair of shorts before reaching into the playpen and picking him up. "Shh."

Riddick grabbed the wipes and a diaper off the dresser before he headed with Cole out to the dark main room. Shutting the bedroom door behind him, he hoped Jack would be able to sleep a while longer.

"Do you know what time it is, little man?" Riddick asked Kayden when he sat down on the couch with the little one against his chest. "The sun isn't even out yet."

He lifted the baby away from his body. Kayden smiled at his daddy before he started to kick his legs as they dangled in the air above Riddick's lap.

Riddick smiled back while chuckling, "I take it that you don't really care." Kissing his son's head, Riddick laid him down to change his wet diaper. "I do have to admit, even though you are wide awake now, you did sleep all night," he said while cleaning Kayden off with a wipe so he could put the fresh diaper on him. "You know you like to fight us now to take naps and to sleep at night, but when you get old like me you will be willing to take naps and sleep as much as possible."

Kayden continued to smile up at Riddick, just loving that his daddy was talking to him. When his daddy lifted his onesie up past his clean diaper and nibbled with his lips on his belly Kayden giggled while he kicked his feet and moved his arms.

Sitting up straight again, Riddick chuckled. "So what should we do while mommy gets more sleep?" he asked Kayden as he zipped the jammies back up.

This time Kayden didn't smile, he just blinked a few times as he watched his daddy's face.

Cole sat down by Riddick's feet and whined, which got Kayden's attention. Just as Riddick picked him up, Kayden cooed. "Let's take Cole outside," Riddick said while carrying Kayden against his shoulder over to the door.

Opening the door, Cole ran out and Riddick stepped outside as well. There was a slight breeze that brushed against them as Riddick walked to the side of the cabin to see the dog.

When Riddick stopped and began to rub his son's back, Kayden sneezed on Riddick's bare shoulder. Riddick groaned as he felt the wetness. "Thanks, buddy," he said before gently rubbing Kayden's bald head.

As he always did after sneezing, Kayden rubbed his face against the closest thing, this time it was Riddick's shoulder.

Riddick looked down at Kayden's face when the baby finally raised his head back up; he could see the shimmer on the baby's face from the drool that was now smeared. "For being so little, you sure are messy," he smirked. "Come, Cole," he called out, seeing the dog just sniffing around after doing his morning business.

Going back into the cabin, Riddick found a clean washcloth on the counter in the kitchen and got it wet. "If I promise to feed you when I'm done, will you promise not to cry?" Riddick whispered knowing how much Kayden hated getting his face washed.

Sure enough, as soon as Riddick began to gently wipe off Kayden's face, Kayden began to fuss.

"All done," Riddick said as he quickly ran the cloth over his shoulder to get it clean.

Kayden didn't care that his daddy was done, he continued to cry. Finding a clean bottle, Riddick put the formula powder in it before adding in six ounces of bottled water. "I'll keep my promise anyway," Riddick kissed Kayden's head while he proceeded to shake the contents of the bottle.

Switching him to the feeding position in his arms, Riddick put the bottle nipple into Kayden's mouth as he walked over to get comfortable on the couch. When he sat down, he leaned against the back of the couch and propped his feet up on the small round coffee table.

While eating, Kayden closed his eyes but did his best to hold onto his daddy's hand with his own little fingers as Riddick gripped the bottle.

Riddick smiled down at his son in the dark room. "Twenty years ago while I was on the run, I never imagined I would be sitting here in the dark feeding a child, let alone my own son," he whispered to Kayden.

At hearing his daddy's voice, Kayden's eyes opened and he stopped eating long enough to make it seem as though he was concentrating on what Riddick was telling him. When Riddick finished speaking, Kayden closed his eyes and continued eating.

A little while later, Kayden had emptied his bottle. As Riddick turned him to place him on his shoulder, Kayden let out a loud burp. Chuckling quietly, Riddick began to pat Kayden's back to make sure all the bubbles were out.

After not getting any more burps from his son, Riddick began to gently rub Kayden's back; Riddick thought Kayden had fallen asleep since he wasn't moving and his head was now resting against Riddick's shoulder.

Slowly slouching down farther, Riddick rested his own head against the back of the couch. Closing his eyes, he suddenly remembered it was his birthday which made him smile. He thought about teasing Jack for not having his birthday breakfast ready for him when he woke up this morning with Kayden, but he knew if he teased her so early in the morning she would be picking on him for the rest of the day.

Just as Riddick was starting to doze off, a small hiccup came from Kayden. Riddick sat still and felt the hiccups pass through his little body. It was then that he felt Kayden pick his head up from his shoulder.

Riddick moved his head so he could look at Kayden. "Thought you were sleeping?" he asked.

Looking at his daddy caused a big grin to form on Kayden's face. As soon as the next hiccup came out the grin got bigger and was accompanied by a loud coo.

Chuckling, Riddick moved to lie down on the couch; setting Kayden on his bare stomach, he held onto the baby's two little hands to keep him upright. "Don't make too much noise or your mommy will come out here and ask what I fed you in that bottle," he said with a smile.

Kayden's toes flexed in the footie pajamas as he stared down at Riddick. A small line of drool slipped from the corner of his mouth as he began to talk to his daddy quietly.

"Do you really think mommy's going to buy that story?" Riddick asked as he watched Kayden's eyebrows move in conjuncture to his sounds. "There's no way she's going to believe I gave you scotch."

"Not now, but maybe when he's sixteen I'll believe it if he tells me you gave him some," Jack said from the bedroom doorway.

Riddick craned his neck to see the doorway that was behind him. "You are supposed to be sleeping. So why are you awake?"

Jack walked over to them and sat down on the carpet next to Riddick's head. "I woke up because I heard him burp loudly," she smiled at Kayden who was still sitting upright with Riddick's help.

"I told you that you were going to wake her up," Riddick stated as he moved Kayden's arms up and down.

"It's okay. I'm surprised I didn't wake up when you got out of bed," Jack said as she leaned over to kiss Riddick's cheek.

Cole got up from his place near the fireplace and lay down with his head on Jack's lap. Jack began to give him some attention.

Turning his head to look at her better, Riddick smiled, "You had only been sleeping for a few hours, so I'm not surprised that you didn't wake up." He looked back at Kayden while the baby drooled some more and kicked his feet. "By the way, I've been up for about an hour, where's my birthday breakfast?" he jokingly asked.

Jack giggled, "The kitchen is closed until at least nine, so I guess you are out of luck."

Riddick lifted Kayden up in the air above his head. "Your mommy is being mean to me on my birthday. Yell at her and maybe she will be nice to me," Riddick told Kayden.

Just as Riddick had Kayden over his head, Kayden opened his mouth to allow the large amount of spit up to come out.

Jack gasped while Riddick moved Kayden back towards his stomach, but he wasn't fast enough. The spit up landed on Riddick's cheek and ran down his neck.

"Oh, son," Riddick said before he growled at hearing Jack now laughing at him. "I don't see how this is funny, Jack."

Continuing to laugh, Jack was nice enough to grab the towel they had used the night before for Kayden's bath. "It's funny because he almost got your mouth," she managed to say in between fits of laughter.

Looking at the smiling baby sitting on his stomach, Riddick began to laugh along with Jack. "I swear he does it on purpose. Look at him, he looks all sweet and innocent but is a puking machine," Riddick stated as he turned his head away from Jack so she could wipe off his neck.

Once Riddick was wiped off, Jack leaned down and kissed his lips. "Happy birthday, daddy," she told him.

Riddick grinned at her. "Thank you, baby," he said and quickly followed it up with: "Since I burned off so many calories before bed can I please get my birthday breakfast early?"

Jack laughed and nodded, "Yes. Do you want to take a shower while Kayden and I are cooking it?"

Shaking his head, Riddick placed his hands on Kayden's sides and made him stand up. "I'm good for now. I'll keep him happy, that way you can cook faster," he said and laughed when Jack poked his arm as she stood up.

* * *

><p>Forty-five minutes later Kayden was sleeping in his vibrating bouncy seat and Riddick was just sitting down to the table for breakfast.<p>

"Wow, Jack," he remarked at all the food he saw in front of him.

Not only had she made him his favorite blueberry pancakes, but she also had ham slices and fried eggs for him; all of which were his favorite breakfast foods.

"It's your birthday so I wanted to make sure you had the top three breakfast foods you like," she said as she kissed his head and handed him his full plate.

As she was about to turn and walk to her seat, Riddick grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap. "You are seriously the best soon to be wife ever, baby," he said, throwing out the wife part just to see Jack's reaction.

Jack looked at Riddick for a moment before she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. Pulling away, Jack leaned her forehead against his. "Are you still serious about the conversation we had last night?" she spoke quietly since they were so close to each other.

Riddick kissed her lips again. "I wouldn't have called you my soon to be wife if I wasn't still serious about what we talked about," he reassured her.

Pulling back a little, Jack looked at Riddick's face and could see he was true to his words. She smiled, "Good."

With that settled Riddick kissed her once more. "Good," he repeated; letting go of her, he watched her move to her chair near him so they could eat together. "Maybe after Kayden wakes up we can head into town and see about finding some rings," he mentioned while cutting his ham and pancakes.

Looking up from her plate, Jack stared at him in surprise. "Rings, as in you want a ring too?" she questioned, unsure if she heard him correctly.

He chuckled at the shocked look on her face. "Doesn't the husband normally wear a ring too? How else will people know I'm married?"

Jack shrugged, "Yeah, husbands normally do, but I just never thought you would actually willingly want one."

Taking a large bite of ham, Riddick nodded as he chewed. "I'll probably take it off when I'm working on certain things, but only because I would hate to lose or scratch it," he told her before taking another bite.

She thought about that as she ate. "Sounds logical," she said, even though she was still surprised that he wanted a ring too. _Maybe I'll find a nice long chain for him to put the ring on. That way if he turns out not to want to wear it on his finger at least he will still have it on him._

* * *

><p>It was a couple hours later when Riddick landed their ship in the shipyard of the nearby town. As Jack got Kayden situated in his stroller, Riddick went to the office to pay for the time they would be there.<p>

After walking around the bigger town for a while, Riddick pointed out the jewelry shop that he had spotted the day he bought the cabin. "There's the place I thought we could look for rings at," he told her as they began to walk in that direction.

Jack smiled at Riddick while they crossed the road. "What if we don't find anything that we like in here?" she asked when Riddick stopped to pick the stroller up and move it onto the sidewalk.

He shrugged, "If we don't find what we are looking for here then we can take a detour to Jenza on our way home." Riddick knew they would be able to find what they wanted there, since it was the planet he got Jack's [url=.]green emerald tear drop necklace[/url] at last year.

"But Jenza is so expensive, baby," she told him as she pushed the stroller through the door that he was holding open for her.

Riddick smirked. "I'm pretty sure normal women would prefer the most expensive wedding ring they could get," he mentioned before he glanced around the store at all the jewelry display cases.

Jack shook her head, "Do I need to remind you that I'm not a normal woman? I prefer practicality instead of size and glamor."

From behind a black curtain that led to another room came an older man. He wore a button up flannel shirt with black pants. "Welcome to Fred's Jewelry. I'm Fred, is there anything I can help you find?" he asked them with a smile that showed he was a heavy smoker.

"We are looking for wedding rings," Jack said, unable to hold back the huge smile that formed on her face.

Chuckling a little, Riddick added to Jack's statement as he glanced at the first show case near the door. "We want rings that aren't very fancy, possibly non traditional," he told Fred while approaching the see through counter in front of the man.

Nodding his head, Fred continued to smile. "You have come to the right place then. I have lots of wedding rings to choose from. Different, shapes, colors, sizes and of course prices," he motioned towards the counter that Riddick and Jack were both looking at.

Jack nodded at that idea. "There's so many to choose from," she said.

"Let's start eliminating some choices, shall we?" Fred asked. "Are you two looking for gold or silver bands?"

Jack looked up at Riddick, who was wearing his goggles. "Silver," she said with a smile which made Riddick smirk back at her. "Silver has meaning for us both," she added.

Fred pulled out a tray that held nothing but silver rings. The tray had men and women's rings, but they all seemed to be styles that might be found in numerous stores on different planets.

Frowning some, Jack looked at Fred. "Do you happen to have anything that most people might not want? Not that these aren't wonderful, but I was thinking maybe you have a selection that is out of the ordinary," she said before glancing to Riddick as he raised his eyebrow in the direction of the store owner.

Thinking for a moment, Fred smiled and held up his finger. "I think I have some rings in the back that you two might like," he put the tray of rings back in the case and disappeared behind the black curtain again.

A few moments later he came out with a smaller tray of rings. As Riddick glanced at the tray he was bringing closer to them, he could tell they were what Jack was referring to.

"These here are my collection of Celtic rings," the man said as he put the tray down on the glass counter in front of them.

Jack looked them over and found that most of the rings were silver and had designs made right into the rings. "It seems you have lots of rings with this type of design," she mentioned as she held up a ring that had a criss cross pattern on it.

Smiling at the ring she picked up, Fred told her about it. "Ah, that is the most common Celtic ring design. It is known as the knot pattern. The knots represent a tie that binds two people together. They say only those that are truly committed to each other should receive this pattern from their partner."

Riddick had been pretty quiet up until now. He liked the idea of the Celtic knot and from the way Jack was looking at them he could tell she liked them as well. "Do you have any of these Celtic knot rings that match, but would fit her and myself?"

"When do you need the rings by?" Fred asked Riddick.

Riddick smirked, "Today."

Fred didn't seem taken back by how quickly they would need the rings. Reaching down under the counter he pulled out a ring sizer. "Well, let's take a look at what sizes you two will need and we will go from there."

After taking their sizes, Riddick reluctantly allowed the man to touch his hand; a few matching ring sets in their sizes were placed in front of them.

"See any you like, hun?" Jack asked even though she figured Riddick would leave the choice up to her.

Riddick picked up one pair of matching rings and seemed to almost study them. "I kind of like these, but it's whatever you want," he informed her.

Jack giggled and took the rings from him. The rings were silver like they had asked for; each ring had what looked to be a loose braid type design that the man told them was still a Celtic knot. As she rotated the ring around she noticed the design was around the whole ring.

Placing the ring on her wedding ring finger, she smiled at being able to see her skin through the holes of the knot. "I like it, but put yours on so we can see it too," she told Riddick.

Picking up the ring, Riddick slipped it onto his finger. "It's good," he said and took it back off after only having it one for a brief second. "Do you want to get these then?"

Jack had an almost sparkle in her eyes as she took the ring off her finger. "I do want them, if you do too!"

Taking the ring from her, Riddick handed them to Fred. "We'll take these," he told him.

As the man went to get boxes for the rings, Riddick turned to Jack. "Did you see that dress shop that's a few stores down?" he asked her before kissing her lips.

Jack nodded, "Yes, why?"

Riddick smirked. "Go see about buying yourself a nice dress for the ceremony," he told her. "Kayden and I will pay for the rings while you get a head start looking for what you like."

"You want me to buy a dress for tonight?" she asked since she had been planning on wearing her normal clothes.

Nodding, Riddick smiled again. "Yeah, just because it's not formal doesn't mean you can't look ultra sexy for me," he winked.

Jack blushed as she saw Fred coming back with their rings now in boxes. "Okay, I'll see you two in a few minutes!" she said before kissing Riddick's lips and leaning down to kiss Kayden's head.

After watching Jack walk out of the store, Riddick turned his attention back to Fred who was standing behind the counter.

"Will the two rings be all for you today?" Fred asked Riddick.

Riddick shook his head and stepped to other the counter that was near the door. "I would like to look at the green tear drop emerald ring," he stated as he pointed it out to Fred.

"This is one of my favorites," Fred said as he handed the ring to Riddick so he could look at it.

The ring Riddick now held in his hand had caught his eye immediately as they entered the store. "Just seems a little odd that I got her a necklace for her birthday last year that matches this ring almost exactly," Riddick mentioned, more to himself then to Fred. The ring had a silver band with the green tear drop emerald in the middle. On each side was a small round diamond followed by a larger oval shaped dimond.

Fred grinned at Riddick. "The ring you are holding is the same size as what your fiancé needs," he said. "And because you are a good customer, I'll give you a five percent discount on this beauty."

Riddick looked up and smirked. "You are a good salesman; I'll take this along with the two wedding rings." Handing the ring back to the man Riddick moved over to the stroller to check on Kayden.

* * *

><p>Almost an hour later, Riddick sat in a chair outside of the changing room of the dress shop. He had Kayden sitting on his lap while the little boy tiredly reclined back against his daddy's stomach and sucked on his pacifier.<p>

"Jack, didn't you tell me this morning you aren't a normal woman?" he called out to her, since she was the only one currently shopping in the store.

From the changing room, Jack answered him, "That I did!"

"Then do you care to explain why it's taking so long for you to pick out a dress?" he teased with a smirk.

Stepping out of the dressing room, Jack smiled at him. "I think I found the one I want to buy," she said. "What do you think?"

Riddick looked up from rubbing Kayden's belly and his mouth fell open. "Holy shit, Jack!" he said, staring at her.

Jack giggled, "Ten creds to the jar for swearing with Kayden in your arms." Doing a slow turn in front of him she asked for his thoughts, "So you think I should buy this one?"

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**:

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><p>Riddick looked up from rubbing Kayden's belly and his mouth fell open. "Holy shit, Jack!" he said, staring at her.<p>

Jack giggled, "Ten creds to the jar for swearing with Kayden in your arms." Doing a slow turn in front of him, she asked for his thoughts, "So you think I should buy this one?"

He kept looking at her. "If you don't buy it, I will!" He moved Kayden to his arms before walking over to Jack. "You look like one of those Goddesses from that book you have," he told her as he watched her turn for him again.

Facing the mirror, Jack smiled as she ran her hands over a mid-thigh length white dress she was wearing. "You think so?" she finally asked, while looking at Riddick in the mirror. The silver strip of sparkles under her breasts shimmered in the light. She loved this dress because the silver reminded her of Riddick and Kayden's eyes and of the rings they had bought for the ceremony.

Licking his lips, Riddick nodded. "I do, Jack. You look gorgeous," he stated while looking at how long and gorgeous her legs looked in the short dress. His eyes roamed back up her body and smiled at how the top of the dress showed off hos big and lovely her breasts were. The thin straps made her shoulders and arms stand bare; which was good because he loved to nibble on her shoulders. "Only thing I don't like is that white scarf," he told her honestly.

"Why not?" she asked with a pout, while running her hands over the scarf that was placed backwards on her neck.

He looked into her eyes as he stared into the mirror. "It hides your neck," he stated and broke eye contact when someone appeared behind him in the mirror. Glancing at the man through the mirror, Riddick quickly flashed a glare at him as the guy looked at Jack. "Maybe you should get changed so we can get going," Riddick told Jack as he turned to glare at the stranger over his shoulder.

Jack saw what Riddick was doing and she turned around to face him. Cupping his jaw with her hands, Jack made him turn his attention back to her. "I'll be right back, baby!" she said loudly enough for the man to hear her, before giving Riddick a deep kiss on the lips.

As Jack walked into the changing room, Riddick heard the guy as he walked away. "Lucky!"

_She definitely isn't wearing that out of the house unless I'm standing guard next to her so assholes like that don't even think about touching her, _he thought and gently placed Kayden, who was now asleep, back into the stroller.

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><p>Later that evening Riddick sat on the couch of the cabin wearing his nicest pair of black cargo pants and a black fitted t-shirt. Waiting patiently for Jack to finish getting ready, Riddick fed Kayden, who's outfit matched his daddy's, a bottle and thought about how they were going to exchange the rings they picked out while relaxing near a fire under the stars together; something they hadn't been able to do lately.<p>

Riddick already had a couple of bottles ready for Kayden along with the diaper bag packed and a blanket for the little one to play on. Before he had started to feed his son, Riddick had packed a small cooler with a bottle of wine; which he had hidden there shortly after he had purchased the place. In the same cooler were strawberries, sandwiches, sliced cheese and crackers. The cooler, along with Kayden's things, were packed in the stroller, waiting for Jack to be ready.

Finally, Jack opened the bedroom door and stepped into the main room. She had on the white dress, her black flip flops and the green emerald necklace she had received from Riddick. Her hair was loosely up in a large clip with two shorter strands that outlined her face.

Whistling, Riddick smirked. "Maybe we should just stay here instead of heading to the falls," he said while glancing down at her smooth legs.

Jack giggled and came over to them. "There is no way we are not going to the falls. You promised me a ring and a relaxing time under the stars," she told him while stopping in front of him. "Is he almost finished?"

Riddick looked down and nodded as he pulled the empty bottle from Kayden's mouth. "Just going to burp him and he will be set for the stroller," he mentioned as he moved Kayden to his shoulder.

"Thank you for clearing the path through the woods with me today," Jack said while she placed a burp cloth between Kayden and Riddick's shirt.

Looking up at her, he smiled. "No need to thank me. It will make pushing the stroller down through there a lot easier!"

Jack bent over and kissed Riddick's smooth scalp. "But I do need to thank you. If I don't thank you for all the wonderful things you do for me and Kayden I feel as though I'm taking advantage of your sweetness," she said before giggling at Riddick's growl. "And I still promise not to tell people how sweet you are."

Riddick chuckled while patting Kayden's back. "Feel free to take advantage of me in any way you want to, Jack. Won't hurt my feelings one bit," he told her while removing his hand from Kayden's back and trying to run his hand up under her dress.

She smacked at his hand, "Uh-uh. You aren't allowed to see under there until later." Moving away from him she went to the door to let Cole out one last time before they left the dog in the cabin for a few hours.

"You are such a tease," Riddick called over his shoulder while getting back to burping their son.

It wasn't long before Kayden was buckled into the stroller and they were on their way through the woods to the falls.

Pushing the stroller with one hand, Riddick held Jack's hand with his other. "Don't let me walk into anything please," Jack told Riddick as she tried to concentrate at being able to see the ground in front of her.

Riddick glanced over at Jack and smirked, "I wouldn't dream of it, Jack." There was only about thirty or so minutes left before sunset and in the middle of the woods it looked as though the sun had set long before they left the cabin. "Don't want anything to scar those gorgeous legs you have."

Riddick's final statement pulled a giggle from Jack as she walked beside him.

As they reached the opening to the field, Jack was relieved that she could see again. They stopped close to the falls there was a fire pit. Jack could see the stack of wood next to the pit and the pyramid of wood waiting to be lit.

"Why don't you get the blankets out for us to sit on while I start the fire," Riddick told her, knowing the fire would keep any hungry insects away from them.

Jack nodded and began to unload the stroller. "Riddick? Did you bring the rings?" she asked, suddenly fearing they had forgotten them back at the cabin.

Flames roared to life as Riddick stepped back from the fire and looked over at Jack. "Yeah, they are in my pocket in the box," he figured she had to be nervous about what they were about to do since she had confessed to him that she figured he would never want to get married. "Nothing to worry about, baby, you'll be getting your ring tonight."

Knowing her face was turning pink, Jack quickly went about spreading a couple of blankets out so they had room to lie down.

While Riddick got the cooler from underneath the stroller, Jack sat down on the blanket and laid Kayden down so he could stretch and move.

Riddick glanced over to Jack and smiled, seeing how beautiful she looked in the dim light from the sky combined with the fire light. The green emerald ring he had in his pocket seemed to be burning a hole in his leg, almost like it was reminding him it was still there. Putting the cooler on the blanket behind Jack, Riddick reached into his pocket and took the ring box out. He sat down next to her and hid the small black box under his leg so she couldn't see it.

"It's beautiful out here tonight," Jack said while looking up towards the sky.

He looked over and watched her. "I can think of something that's even more beautiful," he told her with a smile.

Jack looked over at him and giggled. "Riddick, you already get laid once or twice a night, so you don't have to keep sucking up to me to get it," she said, grinning at him.

Riddick laughed along with her and shook his head. "I'm trying to be romantic here, but you're ruining it," he said once he stopped laughing.

Quieting down, she smiled. "I'm sorry, baby," she stated, bringing her hand up to lay against his cheek. "Thank you for thinking I'm beautiful, I really do like that you tell me that."

Glancing over to Kayden, Riddick saw that he was now on his stomach. His little legs kicked as he cooed. Riddick's thoughts went back to a few of the movies that he had watched with Jack; the ones where the man asked his girlfriend to marry him while being on one knee.

Riddick reached under his leg and held onto the ring box. "You know how I always make fun of the guys in your movies that you love to watch?" he asked when he looked back over to her, keeping the box on the blanket next to his leg.

"You mean the ones that you say are whipped by their women because they think they have to be over the top romantic?" she questioned, wanting to make sure they were talking about the same thing.

He nodded, his rough fingers sliding over the smooth velvet type lining of the ring box. "Yeah and do you remember that I always say that real men don't actually get down onto one knee when they ask their woman to marry them?" he asked and watched her nod. "Well, I know you say that that is how a man that truly loves his woman treats her when he wants to take that next step in their relationship."

Jack narrowed her eyes a little as she tilted her head to the side. "What are you getting at, Riddick?" They had already discussed them getting married, so she knew he wasn't about to ask her to marry him.

Without another word, Riddick stood up, the small ring box was still hidden in his hand.

She watched him stand up and felt more confused by his actions than before. "What are you doing?"

"I had to do a lot of stuff in the past that I never had a second thought about doing. But for some reason I'm nervous as hell right now, Jack," he said, standing tall over her sitting form.

"Since when do you get nervous around me?" she asked.

Riddick smirked. "Oh trust me; I get nervous around you a lot. There's just something about you that makes me want to make sure I'm doing things rights," he told her.

At this point Jack was utterly confused and wasn't sure how to respond. After they had been staring quietly at each other for what felt like hours, Jack finally spoke. "If you are having second thoughts about doing what we planned, that's okay, Riddick. I won't be mad and I'll still love you no matter what," her voice seemed softer and more broken up than normal.

Dropping down to his knees, Riddick shook his head. "I'm not having second thoughts," he paused for a moment. "Jack, I know we might not be at some fancy place like they do in the movies, but I always want to do right by you," he stated as he brought his free hand up to cup her cheek. "For some odd reason you've stuck by me even when I was a complete jerk to you and kept you basically locked in a one room apartment for weeks at a time. I'm not sure why you stay with me, but I want to spend the rest of my life thanking you for doing it." Licking his lips he smiled at her. "Jack, even though this isn't the ring we picked out for you to wear on your ring finger, will you still accept this ring from me and be my wife?" he asked as he finally used both hands to open the small box and show her the green emerald ring that matched the necklace she was wearing.

Jack had started to tear up at the words he was telling her. The way his voice seemed to shake as he spoke, showed her just how nervous he was at that moment. When he showed her the ring, the tears finally spilled from her eyes and ran down her face, mimicking the waterfall behind Riddick. "Oh wow," she whispered before finally nodding her head quickly.

"Yes?" he questioned.

"Yes, Riddick!" she told him with as much happiness as her voice could hold.

Grinning, he slipped the ring onto the ring finger on Jack's right hand. "I know it's supposed to go on the other finger, but I want our matching rings to be on the…"

Before he could finish Jack had her arms wrapped around his neck. "Thank you!" she said against his neck as she couldn't stop the tears from continuously falling.

Riddick hugged her back, "No need to thank me. It's what you deserve after everything."

Jack continued to hug Riddick's neck for several long minutes as she slowly composed herself. Finally, she pulled back far enough to kiss his lips passionately.

He smirked when they broke the kiss. Jack's lips were red and almost swollen from the fierce, long kiss they just shared. "Too bad he's awake, Jack," he mumbled as he glanced down to Kayden who had rolled over onto his back and was looking at them.

Giggling, Jack sat back down and licked her lips. "I'm sure soon he will be ready to sleep," she said, patting the blanket next to her.

Riddick took the hint and sat down beside her. "Does that mean I'm getting lucky out here under the stars?" _Go ahead and say no, baby, _he thought while giving her one of his primal looks that seemed to make her squirm at times.

Jack looked at him and bit her lip, "Maybe." Jack looked down at her ring. She couldn't see it fully now that the sun had set, but it still looked pretty in the light from the fire.

Groaning at seeing her teeth pull her lower lip into her mouth, he leaned forward. In as sexy of a whisper as he could muster up, Riddick let his breath fan across her hair, "I'm sure once you're my wife, I'll get you to turn that maybe into a yes." Closing the small gap between them, he kissed her hair softly.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Riddick was putting the left over food back into the cooler as Jack gently bounced Kayden in her arms. Her humming seemed softer than normal, because the waterfall overpowered it. As soon as the little one was sleeping soundly, Riddick helped her lay him in the stroller.<p>

After covering him up with the blanket, Jack stood up so that Riddick could replace the mosquito netting over the whole stroller.

Jack laced her fingers in with Riddick's and pulled him back to the blanket. "Will you lay with me?" she asked, already moving to lie down on her side.

Riddick allowed himself to be pulled down next to her. "We're married, I think that means you get to tell me what to do instead of asking me," he teased as he offered his arm for her to lay her head on; he was careful not to bump the clip in her hair, remembering how much she said it hurt the last time he did that.

"Most the time I already tell you what to do and besides, we aren't married yet," she laughed, burring her face into his chest.

Chuckling, he ran his hand up and down her bare arm several times. "I'm ready to change that last part if you are," he said.

Jack lifted her head so she could see his face. "I'm ready too," she told him right before she leaned up more and kissed his lips.

Riddick removed his arm from under her and reached into his pocket for the other box that held their rings in it. "Well, let's do this!" he smirked.

Sitting up, Jack moved so she was facing him. "Okay," she said, opening the ring box and holding the box up so she could see the rings in the fire light. "I've never been to a simple marriage ceremony, so how do we do this?" she finally asked, looking up from the rings and to his face.

Riddick took her ring from the box and held it between his fingers. "No idea," he grinned when she did a small snort followed by a giggle. "I figured it would kind of be like the weddings in your movies. Except you and I say something cheesy to each other, exchange the rings and then spend the rest of the night pretending we are on our honeymoon some place."

Jack was smiling as she looked at his face while he talked. When he finished she spoke, "First, what we say to each other here isn't going to be cheesy and second I like the idea of what we will do for the rest of the night."

Leaning in to kiss her lips, he apologized. "I'm sorry, it won't be cheesy, it will be great."

"Just don't laugh if I ramble and say something stupid," she giggled.

Winking, he smiled, "I won't laugh."

"I'll go first." Taking in a deep breath, Jack picked up Riddick's left hand and held it in hers. "In the short amount of time that I got to know you from T-2, to when you dropped me off with Imam, I was able to feel a great connection with you. When you left me with Imam, I said all those mean things to you not because I meant them, but because for the very first time in my young life my heart was hurting in a way I never felt before." Slowly she slipped the ring onto his finger and continued to hold his hand. "As you know, once you came back it took me a very long time to trust and care about you again."

Jack paused and licked her lips. "God, I'm such a sap," she whispered, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to appear.

Riddick leaned forward and gently brushed his lips against her forehead. "I like when you are a sap," he said as quietly as she had been. "Keep going, Jack."

When he leaned back she looked up into his eyes. "After all this time I now understand why you left me with Imam to start with. You did it to keep me safe and to make sure I was cared for in a way that you weren't able to at that time. I also understand that the only reason you made sure I stayed in those apartments for weeks on end was because you wanted me safe," she told him, giving him feedback on what he had told her a couple of hours prior. "And, yes, even if you didn't deserve me sticking by you for the first few years we were back together, I did because I knew we had that connection that kept growing each and every day. So before I keep rambling on I'm going to end my part by saying: it's with this ring that I, Jacqueline B. Badd, promise to continue to stick by you no matter what happens. I promise to forever love you for the man that I always knew you were, for the man and father you are now and for the man and father you will become," she ended her vows with a gentle kiss to his ring.

Looking at her for a moment, Riddick shook his head. "You really expect me to follow up that? WhateverI say after hearing that really will sound cheesy," he chuckled.

Jack laughed with him. "You already said such good things when you gave me my other ring. So you don't have to say any more if you don't want to," she told him honestly.

Still holding her ring that he had picked up before she said her part, Riddick put the ring onto her slender finger. "I want to, Jack," he said before starting his vows. "Before you came into my life, I never trusted anyone. I had been on my own for so long that I figured I didn't need anyone's help. But since you and I had become close all those years ago, I see that my world was lacking in the one place that I really did need someone. You have showed me not only what it's like to trust and love someone, but to have someone trust and love me back. For that, I know you have my back from our enemies, just as much as I have your back," he took a moment collect his thoughts before he continued.

"When I picked you up from Imam's I told you that you were stuck with me. As I now sit before you, I, Richard B. Riddick, give you this ring and the further knowledge that you are officially forever still stuck with me…" He paused as he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her ring as she had done to his. In a very quiet voice, with his lips still inches from the ring, he added in a few more words "…Whether you like it or not, Jacqueline B. Riddick." Riddick kissed the ring one more time, before he looked back up.

She could see the devilish glint in his eyes as he looked at her. "I think this is the part where you get to kiss your bride," she mentioned.

Groaning, Riddick put his hands on her sides and helped her move so she was straddling his lap. "I think this is the part where I get to do a lot more than just kiss my bride," he informed her.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, Jack nodded and grinned. "Do as you wish, my handsome husband!"

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

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><p><strong>This chapter is rated MA for adult situations. If you are not 18 or do not care for sexual acts of Riddick goodness, then please skip this chapter and come back for chapter 14.<strong>

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><p>The first kiss they shared as husband and wife took Jack's breath away. When she finally needed air, she pulled back panting. "Wow," she murmured, licking her lips and leaving her arms around his neck.<p>

"Wow's right," he said; smiling, he adjusted her a little so that she was straddling his lap even more. "You warm enough?" he asked, having felt goose bumps rise on her bare back.

"Yes, but if I have my way I'll be even hotter in a few minutes," Jack told him.

Licking his lips, he began to kiss along her jaw line, making his way to her exposed neck. "And what will we be doing if you get your way?" he mumbled against her neck before kissing the spot behind her ear that drove her crazy.

Moaning, Jack moved her hands to the back of his head. "I'll be on my back with you on top of me," she moaned again as he sucked on her neck. She knew he was going to leave a mark and like usual, she didn't care.

While his mouth was still working, Riddick's hand moved from her back to her knee. Slowly he ran his hand up her smooth leg, but stopped when he felt something under her dress. "What's that?" he asked, not bothering to look down. His fingers skimmed over the fabric which wasn't very wide and seemed to be stuck on her upper thigh.

"One of my surprises for you," she whispered before cupping his face and kissing him passionately again.

He allowed her to take control of the kiss, he even opened his mouth as her tongue tried to gain access. Their tongues danced wildly together while his fingers continued to explore the piece of fabric that he now figured out was satin and lace.

Jack pulled back from their kiss, both of them out of breath again. "Do you want to see what it is?" she asked, because clearly his mind was focused on the garter around her leg and not on the kiss. Leaning back, she let him move her dress out of the way. "The woman that was helping me at the dress shop said that the bride wears this garter at her wedding. Once the husband and wife are alone, the husband gets to take it off with his teeth."

Riddick might not have been a completely normal man, but at times he listened just as well as a normal man did. As he kept stroking her bare leg, he listened to her words, but truly he heard nothing other than: husband, off, teeth. He raised an eyebrow in Jack's direction which made her laugh.

"Do you want me to keep it on while you make love to me, or do you want to take it off with your teeth?" she smiled wickedly as she asked.

A groan was the only response that Jack was given before Riddick captured her mouth with his again.

Reaching up, Riddick carefully took the large clip from Jack's hair. He felt her loose curls fall around her shoulders and he tossed the clip to the side so it was out of their way. Slowly he moved, feeling Jack's legs tighten around his waist he finally took his lips from hers. Quietly, he told her to hold on as he moved them so she was on her back and he was lying between her legs. Closing his eyes, Riddick groaned again at the feel of her teeth gently biting into his neck. "Fuck, baby," he growled; her bites always made his dick throb.

Pushing himself off her, Riddick moved backwards a bit so he could reach her leg. Lifting her leg up, he kissed her ankle before laying down soft kisses on his path to her upper thigh. The farther up his lips traveled the more Jack's dress pooled around her waist. Glancing towards the area of Jack's body that was now unhidden, Riddick grinned against her leg.

"Is the other surprise that you forgot to wear panties tonight, Jack?" he asked in his husky tone.

Jack bit her lip and nodded. Quietly she nudged the side of his face with her leg, wanting him to continue what he had started.

Riddick chuckled as he kissed her knee. When his lips reached the garter, Riddick ran his hands over Jack's inner and outer thigh above the fabric. He smiled, "Can't decide if I want you to keep it on or if I want to take it off like you said I should."

Jack opened her mouth to tell him her thoughts, but the words were cut off with a gasp as he nibbled on her thigh right above the garter.

Smirking, Riddick licked the spot he had just nibbled on. "I want to come home some day to you wearing nothing but this garter," he told her before he took the fabric between his teeth and slowly started to drag it down her leg.

Licking her lips, Jack watched the garter being removed. "That's hot," she whispered as he finally pulled it off her foot.

Sitting on his knees between her spread legs, Riddick removed his shirt; looking down at her, his eyes almost glowed in the dim light.

Jack smirked and held her hands out to him, wanting him to come down to her. "You are so damn sexy," she told him as he laid himself between her legs.

"Guess that means you are in close second," he said and quickly stopped her giggles with a deep kiss.

Her hands found their way to his head and neck. As soon as Riddick moved his attention to her neck again, she moaned and ran her hands down along his shoulders. "Riddick, I need you," she told him as her eyes drifted shut and she concentrated on the feeling of his lips on her neck and shoulder.

"We're getting there," he mumbled against her warm skin.

Jack could feel his erection through his pants as it grew larger and harder. She pressed her hips up against him, smiling when he groaned against her chest. "Get there faster," she said and moved her hips up to meet his again.

Quickly moving so his hands were braced on either side of her head, he looked down at her. "For being such a naughty wife, you sure are bossy," he growled at her before pressing his hips down into hers, forcing her to relax back against the blanket. He groaned as he rubbed his rock hard cock against her pelvis. "This is going to be so good, Jack," he mentioned as he pushed himself up to sit on his knees between her legs.

"I'm only naughty because you made me that way, husband," Jack replied playfully as she sat up.

Riddick licked his lips as he felt her soft hands caressing his chest. Reaching down, he began to undo his pants while watching her remove the white shall from her neck. The sparkles on the dress beneath her breasts shimmered in the light as she moved.

Jack could see that Riddick was thinking something. Even in the darkness, when his features were only dimly lit by fire, Jack would read him like a book. "Say it, Riddick," she whispered as she reached behind her so she could unzip her dress.

Continuing to watch her body as she slipped the small straps off her shoulders, Riddick tilted his head. "Say what?" he questioned.

Removing her arms from the straps, she smiled. "You know what," she told him as she pushed the dress down so that it pooled around her waist.

He knew what she wanted him to say, but he liked it when she fished for what she wanted without telling him. Licking his lips again, he let his eyes trail down from her face to her large perky breasts. "Beautiful," he whispered as he reached a gentle hand out and ran the tips of his fingers across one of her hardening nipples.

"Mmm, thank you," she smiled; no matter how many times he said that while looking at her, the way he said it sent chills deep into her core.

Soon both his hands were massaging her breasts as he leaned down to kiss her again. His cock was straining for attention, but tonight was all about showing Jack just how much he loved her. Breaking the kiss he helped her lay back down, one hand was replaced with lips.

His sucking on her already stiff nipple, made her arch her back. "Yes," she moaned, putting one hand on the back of his head.

Letting go of her nipple, he sat back far enough to use one hand to lower his pants down. "I love you, baby," he whispered as his hand stroked himself once.

Jack nodded as she lifted her hips to get the dress off her completely. "Help me," she said quietly.

Reaching out, he helped slide the dress off her hips and over her legs. Riddick smiled seeing the glistening moisture already appearing in Jack's lower curls. He quickly got his boots and pants off, before returning to lie on top of her.

Spreading her legs wider, Jack let him nuzzle his erection against her wet slit. She rocked her hips and moaned as the tip of his cock bumped against her clit. "I've wanted you inside me since the moment I walked out of the bedroom," she told him quietly.

"Me too," was all that Riddick said before he kissed her passionately for what seemed like the hundredth time that week. Rocking his hips like she had done moments ago, Riddick felt the heat radiating from Jack's pussy.

Jack wrapped her arms around his neck. As the kiss became more intense and almost needy, she drug her nails across his broad shoulders.

Between the heat on his cock and the nails on his back, Riddick couldn't take it any more. Dropping one hand between them, he lined himself up with her entrance and slid himself home.

Both of them gasped and groaned at the same time. Jack lifted her legs, wrapping them around his waist. She used her feet to press against Riddick's ass to encourage him to move.

Riddick began to move as soon as he felt her lock her legs around him. He looked down at her and smirked seeing her eyes closed as she made little "oh," sounds with each thrust in he made.

Jack was enjoying every moment of Riddick being inside of her. What seemed to turn her on even more than normal was the fact that this was their first time making love as a married couple. A smile graced her lips as she slowly opened her eyes and seen him looking down at her. Reaching up, she cupped his head, bringing it down to her.

Another kiss connected their bodies in a way that made them seem to be one person. Jack's hands roamed over his back, while her nipples continued to brush against his chest every time they bounced. Riddick's cock stroked in and out at a rhythm they had enjoyed time and time again in the past.

She pried her lips from his and trailed kisses along his jaw. When she reached the spot under his ear that seemed to be extra sensitive for him, she nibbled and contracted her muscles around his cock.

Riddick threw his head back and groaned. "Don't do that, Jack," he almost commanded as he spoke towards the stars. "Won't last as long," he added while clenching his jaw tight.

Smiling, Jack did it again; not only to try and push him over the edge, but because she always felt extra full when she did it. She only managed to do it a couple more times, before she felt the wonderful feeling building in her lower stomach. "Faster, baby. Please," she didn't need to say more.

Hearing her words, Riddick knew she was getting close. Her tightening around him had caused him to be closer to an orgasm then he had wanted at the time. Although now he was glad she had done it. Pushing himself up onto his knees again, Riddick pressed Jack's knees lightly towards her chest and began to thrust faster into her. The way her insides felt wrapped around him, caused his eyes to close and for him to once against tighten his jaw. _Do it, baby. Cum for me, _he thought, since he knew his voice wouldn't work.

As if she had heard him, Jack's body tensed up as her orgasm washed through her. Her breasts arched up towards him while her pussy clamped down around him over and over again.

His balls drew up closer to his body. "Fuck," he groaned, trying to continue his thrusts as his own orgasm approached.

Jack moaned out his name and that was enough to catapult him over the wall of ecstasy he had been climbing and fully into bliss. Slowing down to a stop, Riddick let her legs go down onto the blanket. He leaned down to kiss her once last kiss.

"Better than I was planning," she breathed out quietly, as they both tried to catch their breaths.

Pulling out of her, Riddick laid down at her side. "It's always better than we plan, Jack," he mentioned as he placed one hand behind his head.

Rolling onto her side, Jack used his sweaty chest as a pillow. "I know, but do you know why it was better this time?"

Riddick smirked while looking up at the stars above them. "Because we are one now," he told her as he wrapped his left arm around her body and covered her left hand with his.

Smiling up at the stars, Jack thought about what they just did. "I love you," she whispered up towards the sky. Jack knew she wouldn't need to make an effort to continue to let people know she was with Riddick, because now when they were apart their rings would scream to everyone they came across that they each belonged to someone and that someone belonged to them.

* * *

><p>A little over four months later Jack lay on her stomach with her head and arms hanging over the end of the bed. "I can't wait for when he can talk more, so that we can understand why he thinks this is so funny," she told Riddick.<p>

Riddick and Cole were lying on the floor by the side of the bed. The room was completely dark other than the moonlight that was coming in through the open windows so that he didn't need to wear his goggles, but Jack could see as well. He smirked at Jack's statement, but said nothing as he lay on his stomach and listened to the barely audible babbles coming from their son.

Lifting her hands up she looked at the two rings on her fingers in the moonlight; rings that she never took off. "Are you listening to me?" she teased Riddick and laughed when he growled at her. That was his way of telling her he was without him saying anything.

Apparently, Kayden heard the growl too, because a giggle came from the opposite side of the floor from where Riddick was.

As soon as he giggled, Jack smiled hearing Cole's tail thump against the hard wood flooring.

This had become a regular game for the three of them. They played it at different times of the day, different rooms of the house and it could be either Jack or Riddick that would hide from Kayden. But it was normally Riddick that would get the loudest laugh from the little boy.

From the first day he was born, Jack knew her son was advanced for his age, but even Kayden's doctor was shocked at how fast he was reaching new milestones. At six months old, Kayden was crawling and had accomplished the tasks of sitting up and saying his first words. His very first word was 'pupu', which was his way of saying puppy since he loved Cole. He followed 'pupu' with 'mama', which of course made Jack very happy; as for Riddick, he would have preferred him to say 'dada'.

With his mommy watching him from the top of the bed, Kayden slowly crawled on the floor near the side of the bed. Peeking around the corner of it, he spoke one word quietly again. "Mama," he repeated like he had since he had learned the word three days prior.

Jack smiled down at the peach fuzz on Kayden's head. "Say, 'dada'," she told him. They had been working very hard on getting him to repeat that, but no matter what they did, Kayden would just smile and say 'mama' or 'pupu' instead.

Kayden stopped crawling and looked up at his mommy. He listened to her say the word a couple more times before he started to crawl along the end of the bed. "Mama," he repeated which was followed by a string of babbles.

Keeping very still, Riddick continued to smile as he watched Kayden's movements through the opening under the bed.

Peeking around the corner of the bed, Kayden laughed loudly when he saw his daddy and Cole laying there. "Mama!" he said while closing the small gap to reach his daddy.

Riddick chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not mama, I'm dada," he reminded his son.

Looking down over the side of the bed at them, Jack smiled. "He'll say it sooner or later, Riddick," she told him as she watched Kayden try to give his daddy a big wet kiss. "I think of it this way, you got to see him commando crawl for a couple of weeks before I got to see him fully crawl. So his second word being 'mama' was just to even the score."

Pushing himself up, Riddick got off the floor and picked Kayden up with him. "Well, I guess I can let you have this point. After all he got all his great looks from me!" he teased with a wink.

Jack giggled as Riddick sat down on the bed next to her. "I wouldn't say great looks. I mean he sadly got your gene where it's hard to grow hair on your head!" She grinned at Riddick.

"That's just wrong on so many levels, woman!" he told her as he leaned down to kiss her lips.

Sitting the little guy on the bed between them, Kayden crawled up to the pillows and lay down. Both Jack and Riddick smiled at him, which made him crawl right back to them. Using Riddick's upright body as leverage, Kayden tried to pull himself to a standing position; like all the times before, his legs got wobbly and he ended up sitting down instead.

Rolling onto her back, Jack helped Kayden move to her stomach. "You need to start working out those leg muscles so we can see you walk soon," she told him as she held onto his hands and allowed him to stand on her stomach.

As Kayden flashed a toothless grin at her, Riddick lifted up his little bib and wiped the drool from his chin. Kayden's attention turned to his daddy for a few seconds before he started to bounce in place.

With each bounce Jack made it a point to repeat, 'dada'. The only thing Kayden did in response was smile and bounce some more.

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, Kayden still hadn't said 'dada' yet. Riddick had now been on a shipment run for eleven days and would finally be home in about an hour.<p>

Jack sat outside in the shade with Kayden on her lap. Cole had his favorite outside toy, a stick, and was happily chewing on it next to Jack's chair. After reading her son a book, Jack was showing him the picture of herself, Riddick, Kayden and Cole that Marcy had taken when they had gotten back from being married at the cabin.

"Who's that?" she asked when she pointed to Riddick. "Is that dada?"

Kayden lifted his little hand to his mouth and made smacking sounds with his lips.

"That's right. We blow dada kisses when he has to go bye bye to work," she stated. "Can you say dada?" she asked him again. She had been trying so hard to get him to repeat it, but like his parents, Kayden was very stubborn when he wanted to be.

With no luck in getting him to say it, Jack decided to head inside to start dinner; as always, Riddick would say he was starving for her home cooking when he got home.

Inside the house, Kayden played with his toys in the living room, so that he wouldn't get stepped on as Jack moved around the kitchen. Kayden staying in the living room didn't last long, because soon he was crawling into the kitchen with a small teddy bear hanging from his mouth.

Jack giggled when she saw him. "You look as though you are pretending to be Cole," she told him.

Kayden made his way to the locked screen door. Using the door as his helper, he pulled himself up, something he could now do quickly.

"Remember, you need to hold on or you will fall," Jack reminded him, because it seemed like at least three or four times a day he was crying because he let go and fell over.

While continuing to get the meat ready for the pan, Jack listened to Kayden talk. After a minute or so, Jack stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him. It finally dawned on her what he was babbling.

"Da," he said again before his little hand hit the wooden screen door. "Da!"

_So he's not saying 'dada' but he is saying part of it, _she thought to herself. She was scared to say anything out loud, because she figured Kayden would then stop saying it. Instead she mentally prayed that Kayden would still be chanting it when Riddick got home.

To Jack's surprise, Riddick pulled into the driveway not even ten minutes later. Thankfully Kayden had pulled himself up after he fell onto his butt once before. And to her delight he was back to chanting 'da' as he pressed his face to the screen and looked outside.

Moving quietly over to the doorway leading to the living room, Jack put her finger on her lips and smiled as Riddick walked into the house.

Riddick raised an eyebrow in her direction, but instead of asking what she was doing, he sat his bag down on the floor and walked to the kitchen. Once there he finally understood what he was hearing coming from the back door.

"Da, da, da," Kayden continued to repeat over and over. Every now and then he would throw in 'mama' along with 'pupu'.

"He's been saying that for over twenty minutes now," Jack whispered very quietly.

Grinning, Riddick suddenly felt the same feelings wash over him as the day he watched his son come into the world: pride, joy and love. "Dada's right here," he said a little too loudly.

Being startled by not only the sudden noise, but also his daddy's voice, Kayden tensed up, let go of the door and fell sideways. When he fell onto his side, he began crying instantly.

"Oh no," Jack said as she stepped a little closer as Riddick took his large strides to get Kayden.

"I'm sorry, son," Riddick told him as he picked him up. "I didn't mean to scare you," he added as he cradled him against his chest and ran his hand softly over Kayden's head and back.

Nuzzling his face into his daddy's shoulder, Kayden slowly began to stop crying as he was carried out onto the back porch.

As little sobs escaped his son's small body, Riddick whispered to him. "You are such a big boy for finally saying da," he told him while slowly pacing back and forth on the porch; something that Riddick did often when he was trying to get Kayden to either calm down or sleep. "You make me so proud, son."

Inside Jack finished making dinner as Riddick continued to pace with Kayden resting his head on his daddy's shoulder. Slowly Kayden fell asleep listening to his daddy tell him about all the things he did to make him proud.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>I kind of have a surprise that starts next chapter! *evil grin* Remember feedback is my drug of choice!<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14:**

* * *

><p>Sitting at the kitchen table eating their nightly family dinner, Jack smiled at Kayden, "Do you have homework to do this weekend?"<p>

Kayden looked down at his plate. "No," he said in a slightly stubborn manner.

The tone of his son's voice caused Riddick to briefly look up at him. Instead of saying anything, Riddick went back to cutting up some more chicken into small pieces.

Jack frowned a little. "Are you sure? You normally always have homework on the weekends," she commented before eating more of her food.

"If you know I have homework then why did you ask if I have any?" Kayden asked louder and more defiantly than he should have.

Riddick put his fork down. "Kayden, I'm going to say this once: I don't want to hear you using a voice like that to your mom again. Apologize," he told his son in a very calm yet serious voice.

Looking up at his dad, Kayden put his own fork down too. "Fine," he said as he glanced over at Jack. "I'm sorry, mom. I won't talk to you like that again if you don't ask me questions you already know the answers to," he said while moving to stand up. "Can I go to my room?"

Jack looked at her husband for a moment before she turned their attention back to their son. "I really think you should finish your dinner first. So eat and then you can leave the table," Jack told him.

Just as Riddick was about to tell Kayden to sit back down, the nine year old slammed his fist down onto the table. "I'm not hungry!" he started to yell, but wasn't able to finish what he wanted to say.

Riddick heard Kayden start to yell and he was on his feet before the young boy could finish. Pointing to the back door, Riddick glared at his son from behind his goggles. "Back porch to cool down, now," Riddick demanded as he watched Kayden's face contort to almost confusion; must have been because Riddick hardly ever raised his voice to Jack and their kids.

Many years ago when Kayden had started to be mobile and getting into everything, Riddick and Jack talked about the way they wanted to discipline him. They both agreed that there would be no spanking or laying an angry hand on their child as he grew older; they hoped that time outs and talking to him would work. As Kayden became old enough to understand, they started to ground him from doing or playing with the things he liked.

Kayden did as his dad said. He walked out to the porch, making sure to slam the screen door as he did and started to pace the length of the porch; something he and his dad did together from the time he was a tiny baby.

"I don't know what has gotten into him lately, but I will not tolerate him talking to you like that, Jack," Riddick said as he looked down at his wife who was still shocked that Kayden not only slammed his fist down onto the table but that he also yelled at her.

Jack nodded before standing to hug Riddick. "I know." Letting go of Riddick she turned and watched as Kayden passed by the screen door again. "Something is going on with him lately, but I can't get him to talk to me about it," she whispered so that her voice wouldn't travel outside.

In the high chair next to Jack's seat, a messy faced little girl was doing her best to peek around the back of her chair to see her big brother as he walked around outside. When she gave up looking for him, she looked back at her parents with her silver eyes. "Dada Den no no, Mama?"

Riddick nodded as he saw some mashed potatoes in his fifteen month old daughter's brown curly hair. "That's right, Aurora. Kayden can't talk to mommy that way or daddy has to tell him no," he told her.

Aurora, who was a splitting image of Jack, minus the green eyes, nodded her head like her daddy had done to her. The look on her face told Riddick and Jack that she was trying to understand what she had just been told. After a moment of looking at her daddy with a serious face she gave in, grinned, picked up a green bean from her plate and offered it to him.

Smiling, Riddick moved around Jack and ate the green bean, gently nibbling on the little fingers as he took it. "Mmm, thank you, baby girl!"

"An oo, dada," she said while picking up another green bean to eat. Like Kayden, Aurora was very advanced for her age, but they were still working on certain things; such her saying 'You're welcome' when someone told her 'Thank you.'

"I'm going to go talk to Kayden," Jack told Riddick.

Riddick straightened up quickly and stopped her. "Let me do it. Maybe if him and I chat privately I can get him to tell me what's going on," he said and kissed her forehead.

Outside, Kayden was still pacing the length of the porch as Riddick walked out. Kayden didn't even bother to look up when he passed his dad, instead he walked past him en route to the end of the porch.

Riddick didn't say anything either as he moved to the steps and sat down. Looking out into the woods that had become denser over the years, Riddick rested his elbows on his knees and listened to Kayden's bare feet on the wooden porch. His eyes flickered over to Cole who was settled down in a dirt hole he had dug in hopes of cooling off. For an old dog Cole was still going strong as ever.

After several long moments and numerous passes while pacing, Kayden finally sat down next to Riddick. "I'm sorry I yelled at mom," he said very quietly; still not looking at his dad.

Glancing to his right, Riddick eyed his son. "I know you are," he paused for a moment. "You know how everyone tells you that you look just like me?" he asked Kayden.

Finally, Kayden looked up at him. "Yeah," was his only response.

"Well, not only do you look just like me, but you act just like me too," Riddick's voice was low in hopes that Jack wouldn't hear what they were saying. He knew that Kayden was getting to the age where he didn't want his mom to know everything and Riddick tried his best to respect that.

Nodding, Kayden looked back out at the woods, "Mom tells me that a lot. She says that with your personality and hers combined I'm doomed to get in trouble at different times."

Riddick smirked. "She's got a point there, but even though you were given both our strong personalities, you still need to keep certain parts of it in check," he informed his son.

Looking back at his dad with an expression that he had seen thousands of times on his dad's face, Kayden shook his head a little. "What does that mean, dad?" he finally asked.

"It means if you are upset or angry you have to keep your cool, you can't blow up at anyone like you did in there," Riddick said. "There are going to be lots of things in your life that make you mad, but you can't let your emotions take over for you. Trust me when I say that if you don't control your emotions, they will get you into a lot of trouble."

Kayden continued to look at Riddick. "Did you ever let your emotions get you in trouble?" he asked; Riddick and Jack made it a point to never let their kids know about the bad parts of their past.

"Sure did, but your mom was there to save me. She's the one that helped me get my emotions in check," Riddick always tried to be truthful with his son and this moment wasn't any different. "I think you need to tell me why you talked to your mom the way you did, don't you?"

This time instead of continuing to look at Riddick, Kayden looked down at his hands. "Because," he stopped himself from speaking, because he didn't have a good excuse.

Riddick turned slightly so he could see Kayden better. Kayden's head was down, but even with his full head of dark hair, Riddick could see how much Kayden still looked like him. "Your mom said something has been bugging you for a while now but you won't talk to her about it. Did something happen at school?"

Kayden shrugged a little, but didn't offer any words.

Sighing, Riddick nodded. "This is something else you get from me. We both keep our thoughts and feelings bottled up until we have no choice but to explode," he informed Kayden.

"I like being like you, dad," Kayden said and paused. "Except for the parts of you that will get me in trouble," he finally gave his dad a smile.

Riddick smiled back and couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm proud that you are like me," he nudged Kayden's leg with his knee. "Except for the parts that will get you in trouble," he added, which made Kayden laugh.

When the young boy finally stopped laughing, he looked over to watch as Cole dug deeper into the hole. "There's a note in my school bag from Mrs. Wolfe," Kayden finally confessed to his dad.

Nodding, Riddick didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but had to ask, "Did you get into trouble, Kayden?"

Kayden's head quickly snapped up as he looked at his dad. "No, I didn't do anything wrong," he said. "Well, if I did do something wrong, I don't know about it."

Riddick nodded again. "If you didn't do anything wrong, then why are you so upset about the note?"

"What if the note is saying that Mrs. Wolfe thinks I'm not smart enough to be in Ms. Scott's small class anymore? What if the note is to tell you and mom that I have to go back to Mrs. Wolfe's class full time? I like being in Ms. Scott's class with Davey and Holly," he was talking fast like Jack did when she was upset about something. "I don't want you and mom to be mad that I can't be in the higher grade anymore."

With that last statement, Riddick completely understood why Kayden had blown up at Jack. From the first day that Kayden was born, Jack and Riddick knew he was advanced. As he grew older he learned things quicker and every day seemed to grow smarter.

At the age of five when most kids on Urizane were just learning letter recognition in school, Kayden was busy learning to write five sentence stories using words that the other students in his grade wouldn't learn for another year.

While Riddick watched Kayden play with a string on his shorts, he thought back to several months ago.

_At the beginning of the current school term Riddick and Jack met with a group of professionals at the school; the principal, the school counselor, Kayden's grade three teacher and the teacher Kayden would have for grade four when school started again were all there._

"_Why didn't you call us or send a note home telling us that Kayden was misbehaving in your class?" Jack asked the grade three teacher, Ms. More._

_Ms. More smiled, "He wasn't misbehaving in a way that needed punishment or major correcting. He was doing his work, just not paying attention once it was done. I truly believe that he was drawing and reading while I was teaching because he was bored."_

_Riddick looked at the other women who sat across the table from him and Jack. "Bored? He's here to learn what Jack and I can't teach him at home, not have a play day," Riddick informed them._

_The school counselor, Mrs. Wright, smiled. "If I may," she said to Ms. More, offering to help explain things better. "The thing with Kayden is that he is a very bright young man. I was able to observe him on several occasions in Ms. More's classroom and what I observed was a student that wasn't challenged enough with the work that he was given. From what I have researched in the past, it seems that when smart students are not challenged enough they tend to get bored and create a different way to challenge themselves; hence the reading of the 'How to Build A Homemade Rocket ship' manual from the library that Ms. More found him reading during her math lesson."_

_Mrs. Crosby nodded in agreement. "I've been a principal for many years and I have seen this type of thing happen several times. As Ms. More stated, we don't want to see Kayden punished for the things he did, we want to help him so that he can continue down the right path of the type of education he needs," she said, smiling the whole time._

_Looking at Riddick for a moment, Jack thought about what they were saying. "So in other words, our son is too smart for his age?" she asked._

_When all the women nodded, Riddick smirked, "We already know that."_

_Jack and the other four women all laughed._

"_What do we do so that he is challenged like he needs to be?" Jack asked._

_Mrs. Wolfe was the grade four teacher that Kayden would be having this term. "We, as educators, don't want to hinder his learning any more than it_ _has been. So we would like to test Kayden to see what grade work he should actually be working on. If the testing shows he is ready for grade five materials than we would like to see about placing him in that grade."_

_Glancing at Jack through his goggles, Riddick looked back at Mrs. Wolfe. "And if he's ready for a grade that is much higher than grade five?" he questioned._

_Smiling again, the counselor took this moment to continue. "If the tests show that Kayden needs to be in a grade higher than grade five, than we will keep him in Mrs. Wolfe's class for all non_ _instruction time, but put him in another classroom with our two other advanced students, Davey and Holly, during instruction time. This way Kayden will be able to interact with his friends that are his age, but also get the class work materials that are at his education level."_

_Once again looking at each other, Jack and Riddick weren't sure what to do. Finally Jack looked at the women. "Can we talk this over and chat with Kayden before we give you a call in a couple of days?"_

_Mrs. Crosby nodded, "Of course you can."_

_A question came to Riddick's mind. "What if we decide we don't want to do this?" he asked, knowing that they both wanted the best for their son, but at the same time him and Jack may think it wasn't the best idea to pull Kayden out of his class all the time like that._

_Mrs. Crosby spoke again, "Then we would leave Kayden in Mrs. Wolfe's class full time like he was a normal student."_

_It wasn't even two days later when Kayden was tested. His results showed that he was working on a grade seven level; three whole grades above where normal students his age were working._

_As the counselor said, Kayden was with Mrs. Wolfe's grade four class during recess, lunch, silent reading time, and specials: art, music, library and gym. When Mrs. Wolfe was teaching the other students, Kayden would walk down the hallway to Ms. Scott's room to do his work with two other students._

"Dad, are you okay?" Kayden asked as he poked Riddick's arm.

Riddick's thoughts came back to what was currently happening, "Yeah I'm good!"

Kayden tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. "Then do you want me to go get it now or wait until after dinner?" he asked for the third time.

Tilting his own head, Riddick wasn't sure what Kayden was talking about. "Do I want you to get what?"

Laughing at his dad, Kayden answered, "The note. Do you want me to get it now or wait until after dinner?"

Riddick nodded. "Why don't we finish dinner first and we will look at the note in a little while?"

Kayden smiled as he nodded too. As he started to stand up, Riddick stopped him.

"You know what you need to do when we get back into the house?" Riddick asked in his serious voice.

Closing his eyes for just a moment, Kayden nodded. "I need to tell mom I'm sorry for yelling at her and that I won't let my emotions get out of check again," he told his dad, using Riddick's words.

Riddick smiled as he stood up along side his son. "You make me proud, son," he repeated to Kayden the way he had done since Kayden was a tiny baby. Even though Kayden was now fifty six inches tall, much taller than the kids in his grade level, he was still Riddick's little boy.

"You tell me that all the time, dad!" Kayden smiled.

Placing his hand on Kayden's shoulder, Riddick continued to smile. "That's because I want you to know that I'm proud of you," he stated.

Kayden didn't move as Riddick took a step forward. "Even if the note is something bad, will you still be proud of me?"

Riddick stopped in his tracks. He quickly turned to Kayden, even though Kayden was very tall for his age, Riddick squatted down so he was on Kayden's level. "I'll always be proud of you, Kayden. Even if that note or any note in the future says something bad, I'll still be proud of you because you are my son."

Nodding, Kayden reached forward and hugged his dad. "And I'll always be proud of you because you are my dad," he told Riddick happily.

After Riddick gave him a huge bear hug that made Kayden groan because he was being squished they walked inside together.

Rori, what they called Aurora for short since she couldn't fully say Aurora, was already eating her dessert of ice cream with sprinkles. The little girl smiled at her big brother as he walked by her high chair. "Den i-ceam?"

Kayden shook his head, "No thank you. I have to finish my dinner before I get any ice cream."

When Jack heard Kayden and Riddick come in from the back porch, she finished rinsing the clean pans and began to dry her hands on a dish towel. Before she had a chance to turn around, she felt Kayden hug her from behind.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, mom," Kayden said as he kept hugging her.

Jack managed to turn so she could hug him back. "I'm sorry it happened too and thank you for telling me sorry."

Looking up, Jack watched Riddick mouth the words, 'I'll tell you later.' She nodded her silent response.

Kayden let go of his mom. "The reason I got upset when you asked about my homework was because there is a note in my bag from my teacher," he said before he turned and looked at Riddick. "But dad says we will read it later once dinner is over," he added as he watched Riddick nod.

Jack smiled, wanting to make the situation seem like it was no big deal. "If that's what your dad said, then we will do just that," she told Kayden. "Come on, I waited to finish my dinner so that I could eat with both my boys." She steered Kayden playfully in the direction of his plate.

Rori heard what her mommy said, so she held up her spoon filled with ice cream. "No Wowi. Wowi i-ceam!"

Laughing, Riddick smirked at his daughter. "Not you? You're right, looks like you didn't wait to finish your dinner with us, you moved on to dessert!"

Rori giggled and nodded at her daddy.

* * *

><p>After everyone finished their dinner and ate their ice cream, Rori was playing with the letter magnets on the refrigerator; she was quietly doing her best to sing her ABC's while Cole slept next to her on the floor.<p>

Kayden had gone upstairs to get his backpack. While he was up in his room, Riddick quickly filled Jack in on what Kayden had told him. "Kayden thinks the note is going to tell us that he's no longer smart enough to be in Ms. Scott's small class full time. Apparently he thought if the note said that, then we would be mad at him," Riddick told her.

Jack frowned. "Oh no, poor Kayden. If he's had the note in his bag for the last couple of weeks no wonder he exploded tonight," she said in a hushed voice in case Kayden came back down.

Shaking his head, Riddick explained. "He said that she sent it home today, not two weeks ago. So maybe there's something else he's not telling yet."

"It's not like him to be almost distant with me. Especially not while you are off world making deliveries," Jack mentioned to Riddick.

Kayden came down the stairs before Riddick could answer, so he just shrugged.

This was a nightly affair for the family. After dinner Kayden would bring his 'Take Home' folder to his parents. Together they would look at his list of homework he needed to do, any graded work that he got to keep at home now and of course any notes or newsletters from his teachers.

There weren't many papers to go through tonight, but Jack and Riddick took the time to look at each one. Jack even smiled at a chalk drawing Kayden had done in art class. "It's beautiful; I have that extra frame I can put it in so that it doesn't get ruined!" she told him since she loved when he brought home his art work.

Kayden smiled, he liked that idea, but soon he let out a sigh as Riddick got to the envelope that had "To: Kayden Richards' Parents" written on the front in black ink. While he had been upstairs, he had purposely put the envelope at the back of the folder, that way it would be at the very bottom of the pile when his parents took the papers out.

Riddick looked at Kayden briefly as he began to carefully tear the envelope open; inside was a folded up piece of paper. Unfolding the letter, Riddick began to read the hand written note out loud for Jack and Kayden to hear what it said.

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Richards,_

_I am writing to let you know of an issue that I became aware of today at morning recess. It has come to my attention that two students from the other grade four class have been picking on Kayden for a few weeks now. It's my understanding that the boys are teasing Kayden due to him being the only student in our small school that has shined eyes._

Riddick stopped reading long enough to look up at Kayden again. He frowned seeing the scowl on Kayden's face.

_I assure you that bullying is something we do not tolerate at this school. Not only have letters been sent home with all students involved, but the two bullies will be reprimanded here at school as well._

_If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call my classroom._

_I apologize for not finding out about this sooner._

_Sincerely,_  
><em>Mrs. Wolfe<em>

Jack's mouth was open as she listened to Riddick read the letter. She looked over to Kayden who was staring down at his chalk drawing in front of him. "They have been teasing you for several weeks? Why didn't you tell us, hun?" she asked.

Kayden looked up at them. "Because I thought I could handle it," he said while shrugging. "And it doesn't bother me that much anyway."

Folding his hands together on the table, Riddick leaned forward a little. He hated the fact that his son was being picked on by two brats, but he had to hold his temper in check just like he had talked to Kayden about doing. "Even if you thought you could handle it and make them stop, you should have told us, Kayden," Riddick told him calmly. "Would you like to tell us now what type of things they have been saying?"

Looking up at his dad, Kayden shook his head. "No, because like I said it isn't bothering me," he said, trying to still pretend it didn't bother him.

"Sweetheart," Jack started. "I know you say it's not bothering you, but I've noticed that you have been acting different the last few weeks. And then today you got very upset with me for asking a question. Does that sound like everything is okay and not bothering you?"

Sighing, Kayden shook his head. "I know I should have told you, but Davey and Holly told me to just ignore them. And that's what I've been doing. Holly said that her mom thinks that sometimes when people pick on you it's because they are jealous. So I think they are just jealous because I have cool eyes and they can't have them unless they become miners when they are older. And to tell you the truth, they are both scared of the dark and of rats so they can't be miners," Kayden told his parents.

Riddick started to chuckle, but quickly got nudged under the table by Jack's foot.

Riddick cleared his throat and nodded. "I think that Holly's mom is right, but even if they are jealous about something it doesn't give them the right to try and hurt someone's feelings," he told him. "And I don't want to hear you tell anyone else that they are afraid of the dark and rats. Telling people that will be doing what those boys are doing to you."

"I won't tell anyone that," he said.

Jack agreed with Riddick. "It seems your teacher is handling it, but I think that if they continue to bully, you need to let your dad and I know so that we can tell Mrs. Wolfe and she can contact their parents again," Jack said. _Or I can find out where the little shits live and pay a visit to their parents. Maybe I __can string the kids up by their ears and see how they like being bullied, _she thought even though she knew she would never actually do it.

"I will, mom," Kayden replied before looking at Riddick. "Can I go play now?" he finally asked.

Nodding her head, Jack reached over and placed her hand on Kayden's hand. "If you want to talk about it more, we are here to listen. And I want you to know that no matter what anyone says I want you to keep thinking that your eyes are cool. Only special kids are born with shined eyes and to me you and your sister are very special!"

Kayden smiled at her, but before he could stand up to go play Riddick shook his head. "Before you go play, I think we need to talk about your punishment," he told the boy.

Both Kayden and Jack looked at him with shocked looks. "What is he getting punished for?" Jack asked.

Smirking, Riddick finished what he had been going to say. "He's getting punished for thinking he was no longer smart enough to be in Ms. Scott's class."

Laughing, Kayden got off his chair and stood up. "Hate to tell you dad, but you can't punish me for being normal," he told his dad as he began to walk away from the table.

Pretending to gasp, Riddick called after him. "I'm your dad, I can punish you for anything. In fact, you blinked so you owe me fifteen push ups," he began to laugh as he heard Kayden laughing in the living room.

As soon as Kayden was up the steps, Riddick looked at Jack with a serious face. "I don't like those kids," he mumbled very quietly.

Jack nodded, "Me neither. I hope that the notes home will put an end to it."

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>There you have it. I skipped ahead in the time line; Thought it would be nice to see what the family was like almost nine years later. So not only does Riddick and Jack have a 9 year old mini Riddick, but they also have a 15 month old mini Jack! ;)<strong>

**I will probably update on Monday of next week, since the holiday is on Thursday!**


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15:**

It had been almost a week since Kayden brought the note home from Mrs. Wolfe. Thankfully, other than a few dirty looks from the bullies Bruce Marley and Matt Camp, they hadn't bothered Kayden anymore.

With it being such nice weather, the school was allowing the kids to eat their lunch outside on the picnic tables. As always, Kayden and Davey started eating their lunch while they waited for Holly to get there. Davey and Holly were just like Kayden when it came to being very intelligent. Davey had just turned eleven, but was small for his age; he worked at a grade ten level. Holly on the other hand was only seven, but was working at the same grade level as Kayden; the drawback for her only being seven was that she was almost as tall as Kayden; which is above average in height for a boy his age.

Taking a bite from his apple, Kayden looked around and spotted Bruce and Matt standing by the door that led the students in and out of the cafeteria. Using his free hand, Kayden bumped Davey.

Fumbling the chocolaty dessert his mom had made for him, Davey caught it in his open hand. "Hey! You almost made me drop my brownie," Davey said before he started to lick the frosting from his fingers and palm.

Kayden rolled his eyes, "Holly is going to run into Bruce and Matt when she comes out."

Davey looked to where Kayden was gesturing with his hand that had the apple in it. "They do look like they are up to no good," he said right before taking a big bite from his brownie.

Kayden put his apple down and picked up his carton of chocolate milk, bringing the straw to his mouth he never took his eyes off the door. "I can feel it, Davey. They're gonna do something, just watch and you will see."

With a mouth full of brownie, Davey started to watch Matt and Bruce too. "How do you feel it?" he asked, even though his words came out a little muffled by the food.

"I don't know, I just do," Kayden said, not sure how to explain it.

A few moments later Holly appeared with her lunch tray in her hands and a reading book tucked under her arm. It wasn't a surprise to Kayden when Matt stuck his foot out in front of Holly, tripping her.

Kayden was on his feet and running the short distance over to them before Holly even hit the ground. "What is your problem?" Kayden yelled at Matt.

Matt looked at Kayden, "I don't know what you're talking about, I didn't do anything." Both he and Bruce began to laugh.

Bending down, Kayden started to help Holly up. "Are you okay?" he asked her quietly, wanting to make sure she wasn't hurt.

Bruce grinned before he started to sing. "Geek Girl and No Eyes sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i," Kayden was in his face before he could finish.

"She's not a geek girl," Kayden told him. "Take it back," he demanded.

Laughing behind Kayden, Matt piped in. "He didn't try to deny he's a no eyed little freak, so I guess that's him admitting he is," Matt said which made Bruce laugh.

Davey had come over and was starting to help Holly pick her lunch off the ground so they could get her a new one. "Kayden, just leave them be. Don't waste your time trying to reason with the immature twits."

Bruce pushed Kayden out of his way so he could get to Davey, "What did you call me, you little four eyed shrimp?"

But before Davey could respond and before Bruce could take a step towards Davey, Kayden pulled his clenched fist back and socked Bruce in the face.

Stumbling sideways, Bruce tried to maintain his balance as he held onto his face.

Seeing Kayden hit his friend, Matt did his best to tackle Kayden from behind. Both boys fell to the ground and began to wrestle. As Kayden tried to get out from under the chubby kid, Matt landed a punch to Kayden's side.

Groaning was all Kayden could do when he felt the sudden shock to his ribs. Being madder now than when Holly had been tripped, Kayden managed to find the strength to roll them over. When he was sitting on top of Matt, he raised his hand back to return the punch to the ribs.

Matt closed his eyes, but the punch never came. Suddenly the weight of Kayden was lifted from him and he opened his eyes.

Mr. Higgins, the janitor, had picked Kayden off the other boy and was doing his best to hold him back. "What's going on here?" he demanded to know as he continued to try and hold Kayden back.

"Let me go," Kayden screamed. "I'm tired of them messing with us," he screamed again, trying to get loose from the adult that had him. "They knocked Holly down on purpose, they called us names and Bruce pushed me. I'm sick of it."

Holly and Davey were standing off to the side watching what was happening. Davey seemed to be shocked that Kayden actually fought the other kids. Holly was crying over the fact that her book got ripped and her knees were skinned from the fall.

"He hit me," Bruce said pointing to Kayden with one hand as the other hand stayed on his throbbing nose. "We were just standing here and he hit me!"

That got Kayden's attention again. "You liar! You and Matt tripped her," he yelled as he again tried to get out of Mr. Higgins grip so he could go after Bruce and Matt again.

"That's enough," Mr. Higgins roared loudly. "I want all five of you to come with me to Mrs. Crosby's office."

Davey gasped, "Why do I have to go to the principal's office? I didn't do anything!"

Mr. Higgins gave Davey a stern look that made the child drop his eyes to the ground.

* * *

><p>A little over thirty minutes later, Kayden, Bruce and Matt were sitting in the principal's office waiting for the meeting between their parents and the principal to be over with. Matt was staring down at his shoes, Bruce was holding an icepack to his swollen and bruised face and Kayden was sitting with an ice pack on his ribs; he was only using the icepack because the nurse told him he had to, after the initial shock of his ribs being hit they didn't hurt anymore.<p>

Riddick and Jack were the last parents to get there. They had left Aurora with Marcy so they could come to the school. Kayden looked up as his parents walked into the office, seeing the serious look on his dad's face, he frowned and looked back down. He knew his parents had never gotten super mad at him before, but he had also never gotten into a fight at school.

After speaking to the secretary, Riddick and Jack came over to Kayden. "You okay?" Riddick asked in his normal steady deep voice as he stood over his son.

Kayden nodded. "Yes, sorry," he apologized for getting into the fight; or maybe he was saying sorry for making them come down here when he knew his parents were very busy with the farm this week.

Kneeling down, Jack looked Kayden's arms and face over. "Is your side the only place that is hurt?" she asked, being a normal concerned mother.

Again, Kayden nodded. "I'm only using the ice because the nurse said I had to," he informed his mom as he removed the ice from his shirt covered side.

"Let me take a look," she told him quietly. Slowly she lifted his shirt and frowned at seeing a bruise that was about the size of a wide mouth canning jar lid. "How did this happen?"

Glancing to the side at Bruce and Matt, Kayden began to speak when he turned his attention back to his parents. "At lunch today Matt tripped Holly. I went over to help her up and Bruce started calling me, Holly and Davey names. Bruce pushed me, so I got mad and hit him."

Riddick glanced at the kid holding the icepack to his swollen face, Riddick assumed that must be Bruce.

Bruce and Matt were listening but both their dads told them not to say a word to anyone.

Kayden continued, "And then Matt tackled me to the ground, punched me in the side and I was about to hit him back when Mr. Higgins pulled me off him."

Before Jack and Riddick could talk to him further, the door to Mrs. Crosby's office opened and out stepped the older lady. "Mr. and Mrs. Richards, could you please join me in here?"

"Stay put and stay quiet," Riddick told his son as both he and Jack turned to follow Mrs. Crosby.

Bruce's dad and Matt's parents were already in the office. "Please have a seat," Mrs. Crosby motioned for Jack and Riddick to sit in the two empty seats. "I'm sorry that we all had to meet like this again, but fighting is something we can and will not tolerate here."

Before she could go on, Riddick spoke up, "What exactly happened?"

Matt's dad, shook his head, "From what my son has told me, your kid is a bully." His wife made a shushing sound, trying to get him to stop.

Riddick cocked his head to the side and eyed the man. "From the letter we got from my son's teacher last week, it seems Kayden is the one getting bullied," Riddick corrected the guy.

Looking at Mrs. Crosby, Matt's dad mumbled, "I knew a kid with shined eyes would only cause problems."

That got both Jack and Riddick's attentions. Even though he knew the lights would cause him a great deal of discomfort, Riddick raised his goggles to his forehead. Looking over to the other man, Riddick raised an eyebrow. "I realize not everyone will understand the reasoning behind my son having the eyes that he does, but maybe you should hear the lady out before you start making wrong accusations," Riddick said while glaring at Matt's dad with his silver eyes.

Jack put her hand on Riddick's arm; she really didn't want this thing to blow up more than it already had. "Gentlemen, why don't we give Mrs. Crosby a chance to finish talking?" she told all three men even though so far Bruce's dad was staying quiet.

Riddick put his goggles back in place.

Mrs. Crosby cleared her throat and gave Jack a smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Richards," she began. "Last week it was brought to my attention by several teachers that Matt and Bruce have been practicing some not nice social skills. In other words they have been bullying Kayden not only because of his eyes, but also because he is in Ms. Scott's classroom for instruction time."

Matt's mom was frowning when Jack glanced over at her. "Why is this the first time we are hearing about what has been happening? Why weren't we notified last week when Matt was caught being mean?" Matt's mom asked.

Jack could tell that, thankfully, Matt's mom was nothing like her husband. "In the letter we received last Friday from Mrs. Wolfe, she said that a letter was sent home with not only Kayden but with the other boys involved," Jack kindly told her. "I'm assuming the other boys she was referring to were Bruce and Matt."

Looking at Jack, Matt's mom sighed. "Did Matt give you the letter?" she asked her husband.

Shaking his head no, Matt's dad said nothing.

"My wife and I didn't get a letter either," Bruce's dad stated. "But if the letter was bad news then I know that my kid wouldn't have given it to me. Since Matt and Bruce are best friends I'm sure they got rid of the letters together."

Mrs. Crosby nodded, "I will have to let Mrs. Wolfe know that if there are any problems in the future, she should personally phone each of you so that the information will definitely get to you. Let's get to today, shall we?" she asked before continuing. "From what Mr. Higgins and one of our lunch ladies told me, Bruce and Matt were standing around near the door way leading to the picnic area. I was told by Matt himself that he stuck his foot out and purposely tripped Holly, another student in Ms. Scott's class. That was when Davey and Kayden came over to help Holly pick up her things and make sure she was alright," she said while glancing at all of the parents in her office.

"Is the little girl okay?" Matt's mom interrupted.

Nodding, Mrs. Crosby answered. "She skinned her knees and her reading book was damaged, but she will be okay," she paused for a moment before finishing. "Before the lunch lady could get outside, Bruce began to call Kayden and the other two students names," she said while looking at Bruce's dad.

Bruce's dad's forehead was wrinkled in disgust from what he was being told.

"And sadly when Davey told Kayden to ignore what Bruce and Matt were saying, Bruce proceeded to push Kayden out of his way to get to Davey," Mrs. Crosby was frowning again. "The lunch lady yelled for Mr. Higgins to help her just as Kayden retaliated against being pushed. Needless to say, Bruce and Kayden sustained very minor injuries," she was cut off by Bruce's dad.

"Very minor injuries? My son has a swollen cheek and nose. And I know that by the time I get back out to him he's going to have a black eye as well," Bruce's dad said while looking over at Riddick.

Riddick just shrugged and glanced back over to Mrs. Crosby. He wasn't thrilled that his son got into a fight, but he was kind of proud that Kayden stuck up for himself and his friends; after all, the witnesses stated that Kayden was physically touched first. _He's a Riddick. Riddick's don't stand around and let people mess with them, _he thought while he tried to listen to what the principal had to say.

"Because of Bruce and Matt's behavior today and the past weeks, I'm going to have to give them both a week off from school," Mrs. Crosby looked at the three adults. "As for Kayden, from talking to him about what happened this afternoon, I understand he only became physical because of being pushed and how his friends were being treated. Even though he did what he did because of that, I still need to give him a day off from school. This way hopefully he can remember that when we are at school we need to inform teachers about what has happened before taking it in our own hands and becoming physical back."

Both Jack and Riddick were nodding. "I agree with you. It's only fair that he gets some time off from school as well," Jack said. She looked at the other parents, "And I hope that when all three boys are back in school this problem will be settled and will not continue as it has."

Matt's mom smiled and nodded at Jack. "I'm sorry our son has been such a bully to Kayden. We will be having a very long talk with him as soon as we get home, right dear?" she looked at her husband.

"I agree with the week off," he firmly stated. "But I don't agree that their son only gets a day off when he's the one that caused his kid's face to be mangled," Matt's dad pointed his thumb at Bruce's dad.

Mrs. Crosby nodded, "Okay. Mr. Marley, is there anything you would like to say about the punishments I am handing out?"

Holding up his hands in a surrendering motion, Bruce's dad shook his head. "I think a week off is too light, but with my wife taking care of the house and teaching Sunday School at church while I'm working our land it's going to be hard to make sure Bruce learns his lesson for this week let alone a few more weeks. As for my son's face," he looked over at Riddick. "I think your son did a great job trying to take care of the problem." He held up his hands again. "Not that I want my son hurt, but maybe now he will remember that not all kids are weaklings and that if my son picks on the wrong kid, one day a kid will really pick on him back, just like your son did." He looked over at Jack and Riddick. "I didn't raise my kid to be no bully. If I would have known he was acting like this, I would have tanned his ass a good one."

Riddick nodded in his direction. "I didn't raise my son to fight, but I did raise him to stick up for himself. If you have any expenses due to what Kayden did, let us know," he wanted to show the man that there weren't any bad feelings between them.

Smiling, Jack looked at Bruce's dad as well. "Like he said we would be more than happy to pay for half if not all of the medical bills if you take Bruce to get checked out today."

Matt's dad looked at Bruce's dad confused, "Mar, what about him only getting one day out of school? You don't think that's fair do you?"

His wife looked at him. "Would you cut it out! You are not any better then your son some days."

He looked back at her, "It's not my fault the trouble started when their bug eyed child hit a growth spurt."

Riddick crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow in the direction of Matt's dad. Before he could say anything though, Mrs. Crosby chimed in.

"That is quite enough, Mr. Camp. I suggest while you have you son home for a week that you both remember how to treat others. Clearly the apple doesn't far from the tree. Now Mr. Marley, Mr. and Mrs. Richards, I was told by both Bruce and Matt's teachers that you can take your son's to their rooms and collect some work for them to do while they are off from school," she stood up and motioned to the door. "As for you, Mr. Camp, I would like to continue to chat with you."

Jack and Riddick followed Bruce's dad out of the office to the area where the boys were waiting.

As soon as Mr. Marley looked at his son, he motioned at Kayden. "I think there's something you ought to say to Kayden, don't you, boy?"

Bruce looked up at his dad for a moment; he still had the ice pack against his face. Sighing, he turned to Kayden. "I'm sorry I was mean to you. And I'm sorry that I pushed you today," he spoke quietly since it hurt when he tried to speak louder. "It won't happen again."

Looking at his own dad, Kayden watched Riddick give him one small nod. Kayden turned to Bruce. "I'm sorry that I hit you in your face. I hope that we can put an end to this."

Bruce nodded his agreement. Glancing over his shoulder, Bruce elbowed Matt. Matt grunted before sighing. "I'm sorry for being mean to you too, Kayden. I'm also sorry for hurting Holly and for knocking you to the ground; just whatever you do, don't hit me like you hit Bruce. I don't want my face to look like that," he said as he pointed at Bruce's face.

Kayden wanted to laugh, but didn't dare. "I'm sorry I almost hit you too," he said right before looking up at his parents.

Jack smiled, "Let's go get your work. We have to get your sister and then there are chores at the house with your name on it."

Nodding, Riddick placed his hand on Kayden's shoulder as they walked. "Like hanging the punching bag back up in the barn," he whispered; he could see that his son needed something to take his anger out on.

**To Be Continued...**


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16:**

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><p><strong><em>This chapter is rated MA for adult situations. If you are not 18 or do not care for sexual acts of Riddick goodness, then please skip over the part after the italics and come back for chapter seventeen.<em> **

* * *

><p>When Riddick pulled their pickup truck with the extended cab into Marcy and Brent's driveway, Jack smiled seeing Aurora and Greg outside helping Marcy water the flowers. Aurora's sandals sat neatly on the steps next to Greg's; Aurora insisted on putting her shoes straight together whenever she took them off.<p>

Kayden, who was in the back seat, looked over the front seat at Marcy. "When are Marcy's babies going to be born again?" he asked his parents.

It had been about ten years ago that Marcy and Brent welcomed Elaine and Chase into the world. Since then they added another son named, Greg, who was now four and twin girls that would be born in a few months.

"Marcy is only six months along, so she still has about three more months before the baby girls are born," Jack told him.

Riddick shut the truck off and got out. He used the switch to open the back door for Kayden to get out.

Outside, Greg and Aurora both laughed when Marcy sprayed their bare feet with the sprayer that was attached to the hose.

"What are you doing to my little girl?" Riddick called out to Marcy.

Turning, Aurora giggled and started to run to her daddy. "Maw Wowi eats wet!" she said as she lifted one wet foot into the air.

"Marcy is getting your feets wet?" Jack questioned, she loved hearing Rori say stuff. Just like Kayden at that age, she seemed to add s's to a lot of things. When Rori nodded her head Jack smiled. "She's getting your feet wet," she stated so that the little girl would hear the correct pronunciation.

Using her little hand to push some of her hair away from her face, Rori smiled up at her mommy. "Wowi eat wet," she repeated.

"Was she good for you, Marcy?" Jack asked her friend.

"She's always good for me, Jack, you should know that by now," Marcy giggled. "She and Greg helped feed the ducks and they were helping me water the flowers, but somehow their feet got dirty too," she smiled.

Greg looked up at his mommy as he pointed to Kayden. "Mommy, will bruder and sissy be home now?" he asked since Kayden wasn't still in school, so he thought that that meant Elaine and Chase were going to be home soon too.

Shaking her head, she ran a hand through his hair. "No, buddy, Elaine and Chase will be home in about three hours," she told him.

Nodding, he looked at Kayden. "Want to see the baby ducks?" he asked Kayden.

"Wowi tee duts," Rori said, wanting to see the ducks again with Greg. She started to walk towards the trail that lead to the back of the house.

Kayden shrugged before he glanced up at his parents. Riddick nodded his approval, "Take Rori with you so she can see them too, please," he told his son.

"And don't let them get too close to the pond so that they don't fall in," Jack added. She knew Kayden was always careful when he had the kids, but it was always good to remind him since the water was about four foot deep which was deep enough to be over Greg and Rori's heads.

Moving over to the two little kids, Kayden held his hands out to both of them. Both Rori and Greg took one of his hands as they started to walk along the path to the back of the house where the six foot long and five foot wide duck pond was located.

Once the kids were out of sight, Riddick kissed Jack's head, "I'm going to go check out the baby ducks too."

Marcy turned off the water hose from the well pump before walking back over to her best friend. "So is everything okay with Kayden?" she questioned Jack.

With a sigh, Jack nodded, "You remember that note that I told you Kayden's teacher sent home last week?"

Nodding, Marcy slightly waddled over to sit on the porch steps. "Yeah, was it about that again?"

"Sure was. Apparently the two boys that the note was about purposely tripped Kayden's friend Holly and made her fall down at lunch time," Jack filled Marcy in on what happened.

Marcy gasped, "Oh no. I sure hope Holly was okay!" A few times throughout this school year Holly and Davey had came over to play at Kayden's house. Elaine and Chase had joined them so Marcy knew who Holly and Davey were.

Jack sat next to her and placed her hand on Marcy's large belly to see if she could feel the twins moving around in there. "She skinned her knees and was upset because her new reading book that her dad had bought for her was ripped."

Smiling, Marcy knew how much Kayden and his two friends loved to read. "Poor thing. So then why is Kayden home early from school?" she asked.

Taking her hand off Marcy's belly, Jack leaned back against the step above her and looked up at the blue sky. "Being the good friend that Kayden is, he went over to help Holly up. Some words were exchanged, one of the boys pushed Kayden and Kayden punched him very hard in the face."

Marcy gasped loudly and covered her mouth with her hands. "Wow. He didn't break any bones or anything, did he?" she asked, knowing that Kayden was very strong for his age.

"No broken bones, but the kid's face will be swollen probably for a week and colorful for at least two weeks," she told Marcy while looking back at her.

"I bet that kid's parents were pissed," she whispered so there was no chance Greg or Rori would hear it.

Jack shook her head, "Surprisingly, the dad seemed happy that Kayden popped him in the face for picking on him and his friends. The dad said that he was hoping that maybe this would put his son in his place and teach him that he can't pick on people."

Marcy couldn't help but giggle, "That's crazy. But hopefully the little brat did learn his lesson today. So how long is Kayden out of school for?"

Looking down at Greg and Rori's sandals that were sitting on the steps, Jack smiled seeing that Rori's shoes were almost the same size as Greg's. "He gets to go back on Monday, but the other two kids won't be back for a whole week," she said.

Rubbing her stomach, Marcy sighed. "Serves them right, maybe that really will help both boys learn not to mess with other kids," she commented.

A few moments later, Kayden came walking back around the house, came over to Jack and sat down on the step between her legs. Leaning back against her stomach he rested his arms on her legs. "Mom, dad and Greg made me laugh and now my side hurts," he told her.

Jack ran her hands through his thick hair. "We'll be leaving soon to go home so I'll give you some medicine for the pain," she said.

Marcy frowned as she looked at the young boy, "Did your side get hurt today, Kayden?"

Nodding, Kayden stood up. "Yeah, Matt landed a punch before I could get him off me," he said as he raised his shirt up to show Marcy his bruised side.

"Ouch, that does look like it hurts," Marcy mentioned.

Kayden nodded. "It only hurt when he first did it, but then Greg started to walk like a duck," he told her and tried not to laugh again at the memory. "And dad did it too so I laughed and then it started to hurt again."

Both Jack and Marcy giggled. "You should have come to get my camera so we could have taken some pictures of your dad walking like a duck. Do you realize how much allowance you could get from him if you threaten to show everyone those pictures?" Marcy laughed again.

He tried hard not to laugh, but he ended up laughing and hugging himself with his arms; he was trying to stop the throbbing that he knew was coming.

Riddick came around the house holding hands with both Rori and Greg, both kids were making quacking noises as they tried to walk and wiggle their butts like the big ducks were doing.

"Kayden left with Rori and Greg, but I'm returning with two ducks," Riddick said as he smirked at Marcy and Jack.

Greg let go of Riddick's hand and started to run to his mommy. "Wack, wack," he told Marcy.

"Tat, tat, tat!" Rori said with a big grin on her face; she seemed very proud that she could say quack like Greg.

Jack giggled as she watched her little girl try to jump while holding onto one of her daddy's hands. "You two are so silly," she told the kids.

When Rori was done jumping and quacking, she went to sit on her mommy's lap. "Mama, Wowi ome nack?" she asked.

Glancing at her watch, Jack nodded. "Yeah, we will start heading home so we can have a snack," she gave Rori a kiss. "Can you tell Marcy thank you for letting you come over for a little bit?"

Smiling over at Marcy, Rori did her best to thank her, "An oo."

Marcy smiled back. "You are welcome and thank you for helping to water my flowers and feed my ducks," she said.

* * *

><p>It was a little over an hour later that Riddick and Cole came into the house from checking to see how Brent was holding up working the fields alone.<p>

Looking over at the couch, Riddick smirked seeing Kayden and Rori sound asleep together. They were sharing the same pillow while Kayden was asleep facing the back of the couch and Rori was facing her brother. A discarded kid's book was left long forgotten near Rori's feet.

He noticed that they were covered up by the thin blanket that he had bought for Jack while she was pregnant with Kayden.

_"Honey, I'm home," Riddick called out as he walked into the house from once again being gone off world._

_Jack sniffed her nose and began to wipe her eyes with her hand towel. "I'm in here," she called from the kitchen._

_"Baby, what's wrong?" Riddick asked, hearing the sadness in Jack's voice._

_Jack, who had been busy cutting up veggies for a salad, was already turning to greet him when he entered the kitchen. More tears slipped down her cheeks as he set the two brown paper packages on the table. "Nothing, I'm just happy you are home," she lied to him, not wanting to make a big deal out of her being an emotional wreck again._

_Shaking his head, Riddick cupped her face with one hand while placing his other hand on her very large stomach. "You have never been good at lying to me, baby. I hate seeing you cry, so tell me what the problem is," he told her.__  
><em>_  
><em>_Since she had told him she was pregnant, he had made it his goal to make sure she was taken care of. He wanted to make sure she was as happy and comfortable as he could possibly make her. But it seemed that once she hit the seventh month mark she had been more emotional than ever; and most days he was the cause of most of her hatred and discomfort._

_Placing her arms around his neck, she did her best to hug him, even though her stomach got in their way. "It's just stupid stuff," she murmured against his chest._

_Riddick put his hands on hers and moved them from around his neck. Keeping his hands with hers, he led her over to the kitchen table. Pulling the chair out, he took a seat and gently pulled her onto his lap. "Nothing is stupid when it comes to you and our baby," he told her. "Are you still having the problem of being really cold one moment and then hot the next?" he asked her, since she was having that problem before he left her three days ago._

_Jack laid her head against his shoulder and nodded. "It's not any better. I hate it!" she said._

_Rubbing her back and belly at the same time, Riddick kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, but just think only two more months and it won't be happening any longer," he told her and chuckled as she made a groaning noise. "It seems like a long time, but it will go by quicker than these last seven months have."_

_"I just don't like it when you are gone," she whispered before she picked her head off his shoulder. "When you are gone I can't seem to get comfy or warm."_

_He frowned, "I'm sorry. Only a couple more deliveries and I'm done until after our little one is born." Riddick's hands continued to rub her body._

_Jack tilted her head. "Did you not hear what I said? I don't like it when you are gone," she told him again in her sweet voice that she had been using on him a lot during this pregnancy; it was the voice she used when she wanted to get her way with something._

_"I heard you, baby, but if I don't make these last couple of deliveries, we will these two clients for next season," he reminded her. "Besides, I got you some presents that will hopefully help you stay comfortable and warm while I'm gone."_

_Her face went from a pout to a grin in mere seconds as she looked at the two packages that were waiting for her on the table. "Those are for me?" she asked while already getting off his lap slowly._

_Riddick watched her waddle around the table. He licked his lips as he glanced at her butt that had become rounder during this pregnancy. "Yup, they are for you," he said._

_Smiling, Jack began to unwrap the top package. She gasped as she pulled out a long grey cardigan. Holding it up to see it fully, Jack's face lit up as she noticed the matching belt that came with it so she could tie the sweater closed. Slipping it on, Jack giggled, "It's so soft!"_

_Standing up, Riddick moved over to her and helped her cover her stomach with the sweater before he tied the thin belt together under her breasts. "The lady in the maternity store said that these normally keep pregnant women very warm when they are cold," he smiled. "I'm sure it will be way too big for you after the baby is born, but I wanted to get you a bigger size so that your stomach would be __completely covered."_

_Jack looked up at Riddick as her hands began to rub her stomach. "This was very sweet and thoughtful of you, baby," she said as fresh tears formed in her eyes._

_He frowned, "No, don't cry. You haven't even seen what else I got you." He picked up the second package and held it out for her to unwrap; he hated seeing her crying, even if they were happy tears._

_When she got the paper off, Jack gasped again. "Oh my word, it's as soft as the baby blankets we got," she lifted the medium sized blanket up to rub her cheek against it._

_"I know how much you said you wish you could find a blanket large enough for you, but soft like all the baby blankets," he chuckled. "So I picked this one up as soon as I saw it," he really wanted her to be happy even though he knew most days she was starting to become more and more miserable. Leaning down he kissed her lips. "I've got one more surprise, but it's on the couch."_

_Turning around, Jack laughed as she saw Cole already trying out the body pillow that was lying on the couch. "You got me a Riddick sized pillow?" she laughed again as she shooed Cole off the pillow so she could pick it up._

_Riddick chuckled as he plopped down on the couch after Jack picked the large pillow up. "Sure did. Thought this might relieve you of some of your stress from not having me here to cuddle with at night," he told her honestly._

_Putting the pillow on the chair, Jack moved very carefully to straddle Riddick's lap. "Do you know how wonderful you are?" she asked, placing her hands on his shoulders and leaning down to kiss his lips. "You are seriously the best boyfriend and father to be ever," she added in between kisses._

_As always, Riddick enjoyed the feel of Jack's stomach pressed against his. It always reminded him that Jack was his and soon they would bring a life into the world. "Wouldn't do any of this, Jack, if I didn't think you deserved every bit of what I can give to you," he told her._

_Placing his hands on her hips, Riddick kissed Jack back. This time the kiss was deep and intense; just how they always were after he got home from being gone. "I missed you," he whispered against her lips._

_Jack smiled and ran hand over his stubbly scalp, "Not as much as I missed you."_

_Riddick groaned as she purposely moved his hands so they were cupping her butt._

"Riddick?" Jack whispered again, this time she was standing right next to him.

Blinking rapidly a few times, Riddick finally focused on her. "I'm home," he told her.

Jack giggled quietly, not wanting to disturb the napping kids. "I know that. Do you want a warm brownie that I just took out of the oven?" she asked him.

Shaking his head, Riddick took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. "Later," he said, before pointing to Cole. "Watch the kids," he told the reliable watch dog and watched as Cole moved to lie down in front of the couch.

"What are we doing?" she asked, as Riddick pulled her down the hallway and into the laundry room.

As soon as Riddick turned the lock on the door, he looked at her with a huge grin. "Know what I was just thinking about?" he asked while slowly advancing towards Jack as she walked just as slowly backwards towards the washing machine.

"I don't know which time you were thinking about, but I'm glad you were thinking about it," Jack said before biting her lip.

Riddick kept grinning. "I was thinking about the time I brought home the sweater, blanket and body pillow," he licked his lips as he eyed her body that was covered by a knee length skirt and a tight fitting shirt. "The time you showed me just how horny you were from being pregnant and not having sex with me in four days." As soon as Jack couldn't go anywhere, Riddick kissed her lips passionately. His hands immediately went to her waist and found their way under her shirt. "Gonna make you cum so hard," he whispered after they finally broke the kiss for some much needed air.

Jack's hands were already working at getting Riddick's pants unbuttoned. "You always do, baby," she said. Her hand snaked into his pants and began to stroke his erection. "How do you want me?" she asked as her hand moved further down and cupped his heavy balls.

Groaning, Riddick loved the fact that she still enjoyed wearing dresses and skirts. It made their quickies that much quicker. "Haven't had you bent over the washer in so long, Jack," he mentioned; his mouth moving to suck lightly on her neck.

Gently, she massaged his sac while her head rolled to the side, giving him more access to her neck. After all these years together, she enjoyed the way Riddick made her body respond to him as if it was their first time all over again. "Too long, Riddick," she moaned.

Helping her remove her hand from his pants, Riddick licked his lips as she turned around, pulled her skirt over her nice plump ass and presented herself to him. A groan was her thank you, as he slowly tucked his fingers inside the top of her cotton bikini panties and tugged them down her legs. Squatting, he helped her step out of them. On his way back to standing, Riddick's teeth softly sank into her left butt cheek, causing Jack to push back against his mouth and moan again.

Once he was standing again, Riddick's pants pooled around his ankles. "Show me how ready you are for me," he told her, even though it sounded like he was begging her to show him.

Jack's hand moved between her and the cold metal washing machine. Her fingers slipped between her lower folds that were already moist with arousal. Bringing her hand up she turned slightly so he could see her putting those two fingers deep into her mouth.

Riddick watched as her cheeks hollowed out as Jack sucked her fingers clean. "Fuck that's hot!" he said. Watching her remove her fingers with audible pop, Riddick captured her in a steamy kiss again. Their tongues danced together, sharing the taste of Jack's pussy.

Pressing her butt back against him, Jack tried to silently convince him to fuck her. It had been over a week since she last had him in her and she was just as eager as he was.

When the kiss was broken, Jack spread her feet further apart and braced herself against the edge of the machine. "Come on, big guy. I'm waiting," she taunted him.

He growled at her while his hand pumped his extremely hard cock. "Stop rushing me or I'll go slower," he mumbled. He couldn't keep his eyes off her ass that thankfully hadn't lost his roundness that was gained during boy pregnancies.

"Like I would complain at you going slow," she giggled and then gasped when his hand came down just the way she liked it onto her cheek that he had bitten. "Hey."

"That didn't hurt," he whispered.

"Didn't hurt, but I wasn't expecting that since you don't normally do that during our quickies," she reminded him.

"Complaining?" he questioned. Not waiting for her to answer he lined himself up with her wet entrance, Riddick pushed his hips forward just enough for the head of his cock to go inside. Just to prove a point, he pulled back out and smirked, hearing Jack moan in disapproval. Pushing back in again, he filled her hot tunnel with one fluid motion. Not giving her time to adjust, Riddick began to thrust his hips forward hard enough to make slapping noises as his pelvis met her ass.

"Feels so good!" Jack moaned, trying to stay quiet. As she braced herself fully, her knuckles started to turn as white as the machine she was bent over.

Riddick grunted each time he filled her completely, it felt so good to be back inside her again and he knew he wouldn't last long. _Guess that's why it's called a quickie, _he thought to himself.

She knew that at this pace, neither of them would last too long. It was her experience throughout the years that the faster they came together the more the world seemed to spin for both of them. Letting go with her right hand, she pressed herself back against Riddick to meet his inward thrust. Her hand ended up sliding through her moist curls.

Feeling her finger graze over his cock once as she tried to set up a steady rhythm on her clit, Riddick leaned against her back. "That's it, baby. Tighten down around me," he told her, knowing that the sensations he received from her pleasuring herself while he fucked her was something he had never experienced before Jack. She had once told him that for some reason getting stimulated outside as well as in made her orgasm explode harder; who was he to deny his wife what she wanted and liked?

With a few more strokes in, Riddick could feel his balls start to tighten. "Cum for me, Jack," he said against her shoulder as he tried to keep his pace. Keeping his hands on her waist he steadied himself.

"I will! So close," it all came out in ragged breaths.

As he closed his eyes, his head fell back and his teeth clenched together. "Fuck, Jack!" he groaned just as he felt her legs begin to tremble. Letting go of her waist with one hand, he wrapped his arm around her to keep her standing. This also caused the angle he was fucking her at to change slightly.

At the sudden change, her inner walls clamped down tightly around him; Jack's way of pushing him over the edge as her own orgasm was conceived. The tightness around him caused his strokes in and out to become rocky as his cock was milked and sucked dry.

Riddick's hips slowed drastically; he was trying to make his orgasm last as long as possible.

As soon as they both slowly came down from the lovely euphoric high, Riddick laid small soft kisses along the back of Jack's neck. "You are so perfect," he told her quietly; his arm stayed around her waist just in case she was still unstable.

"Not as perfect as you are, my sexy husband," Jack replied with a smile. "Thinking about me pregnant, sure makes you horny."

He chuckled as he slowly slipped out of her. As he did so, he could feel their mixed cum start to escape Jack's body. "Hold on to the washer," he said, not wanting her to fall as he let go of her. After pulling up his pants he moved the couple of feet over to the small sink and quickly got a wash cloth wet.

Jack licked her dry lips as she watched come back with the cloth. She closed her eyes and moaned when she felt the cool damp material be moved over her legs and crotch area. "Love you, Riddick."

"Love you too, Jack."

* * *

><p>To Be Continued...<p>

* * *

><p>Lots of thanks goes out to my wonderful beta. Any mistakes you find in the chapters are my own!<p> 


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

* * *

><p>That night, after Aurora had been tucked into her crib, Riddick and Jack had sat down with Kayden to talk about what had happened at school. They let him know that they weren't mad that he got into a fight, but they wanted him to understand that it couldn't happen again. If Matt and Bruce or anyone else continued to pick on him and his friends then Kayden needed to not only tell Mrs. Crosby, but also Riddick and Jack.<p>

When the talk was over, Kayden promised he wouldn't get into a fight again and that he would tell them if the bullying continued. Kayden agreed with his dad about needing to do something productive to help him get his anger over Bruce and Matt out of his system.

So the next day Kayden was helping his dad and Brent do work for his dad's company.

From what Kayden remembered his dad telling him, after he was born his dad decided that he didn't want to be away from his family as much as he had been. Not only did his dad think it wasn't fair for his mom to be stuck with the sole responsibility of raising a baby alone so much, but his dad didn't want to miss out on watching Kayden grow.

It had taken over a year for Riddick and Jack to fully trust Brent and Marcy, but once they did, Riddick hired Brent to help him tend to the fields. After Brent proved himself to be a hard worker, he started to go on deliveries with Riddick. This got Brent familiar with the clients, used to flying a large cargo ship and also the experience needed to make the deliveries the way Riddick liked them done.

It hadn't been long before Riddick and Brent began taking turns at making the off world deliveries.

"When did my dad buy your tree fields again, Brent?" Kayden asked. He had forgotten how long ago it was that Riddick made the purchase of ninety percent of Brent's unused fields and expanded the fields he was already growing.

Brent finished putting the new fence post into the hole. "It was right after Chase and Elaine's second birthday. So must have been about eight years ago," he said while reaching for the shovel to start filling in the dirt around the post.

Kayden held this fence post steady like he had done for the last three hours with the other posts. "You didn't want them anymore?" he asked.

"The fields?" the sweaty man asked.

"Yeah. You didn't want to put them to use like my dad put all of his fields to use?" Kayden clarified.

Shaking his head, Brent finished with the dirt. He propped the shovel up against a nearby tree that was at the edge of the woods. "Nah, I had no idea what I would do with all of the fields. So when your dad finally asked if he could buy them from me, I took the chance to get rid of them."

Kayden smiled as he picked up his camouflaged metal water canteen and took a drink from it. "My dad said that some day I get to inherit all of this land. You still want to work for me when that happens?"

Brent started to laugh. "I sure hope that by the time you inherit it all I'll be too old to work. Maybe I'll buy some fruit and vegetables from you though," he said as he sat down and leaned his back against the shade tree to rest for a while.

Sitting next to Brent, Kayden nodded. "I'll give you a fair price, just like my dad does for his clients."

Off in the distance, Riddick's tractor started up. It sounded like the brand new one he had recently purchased, because the old one had a cough; at least that's how Riddick explained it to Rori.

"Sounds like my dad is bringing the rest of the fence wood," Kayden told Brent as the tractor seemed to be coming closer. Kayden knew the reason Riddick had left them was so he could haul the last of the fencing to their area.

* * *

><p>Mr. Matt Camp, Sr. pulled his truck into the driveway that he was told belonged to Robert and Jack Richards. Going there wasn't something he was thrilled about, but it was either go there or live with an angry wife; the latter of the two wasn't an option for him.<p>

As he parked the truck behind a pick up truck that he assumed belonged to Robert, a large dog came wandering around the house, barking. Mr. Camp stepped out of the truck, but kept his eye on the dog.

It wasn't long before a little curly brown haired girl in a yellow sunflower print sundress came running after the dog. "Toe no way mama!" she scolded Cole for running away from her mommy, even though she was also breaking the rules by running away from Jack.

Jack was right behind Rori when she spotted the man standing there. "Can I help you with something?" Jack asked as she caught up to Rori and picked her up. "Oh, Mr. Camp…" she added now that she got a glimpse of who the man was.

Mr. Camp took his hat off and held it in front of his stomach with both hands. "Hello, Mrs. Richards, beautiful place you have here," he stated while taking steps up the walkway towards the front of the house. He looked at the little girl on Jack's hip and smiled. "Your little girl is a doll."

Cole, who was just as protective of his family now as he was when he was a young pup, moved directly in front of Jack and stood growling at the strange man.

"I'd stay there if I were you," she said with a smile. "Thanks for the complement on my daughter, I'm sure since you think she's a bug eyed freak like my son she will grow up to be a bully." Jack gave him an annoyed look. "What brings you out this way, Mr. Camp?"

He frowned at her comment as he took a large step backwards. He could see the girl's eyes were silver like her dad's and brother's eyes. Looking down, he kept an eye on the dog that seemed to be okay as long as he stayed by his truck and didn't try to go towards the house. "My wife," he paused, his hands looked as though they were going to rip the hat brim in two. "I should say that I came to apologize for the way I acted yesterday afternoon at the school."

Jack nodded her head. _I think the first part was more accurate,_she thought to herself, knowing that a man like Mr. Camp wouldn't be apologizing on his own. "Okay, but I do believe it was my husband that took the most offense to your outrageous comments."

Rori held onto her mommy's shirt as she quietly listened to her mommy and the man talk. Her little fingers on one hand smoothed over her mommy's long hair that was pulled back into a pony tail, while her big silver eyes looked over the letters that were on the side of the man's truck. "A," she said, letting go of her mommy's shirt to point to the letter on the truck that she knew started her full first name. "A, Wowa," she added with a big grin wanting her mommy to know that 'A' started Aurora.

Glancing back at his truck, Mr. Camp smiled seeing the 'a' that the little girl was pointing to. He looked back at Jack, "Yes, Ma'am, I know. Is your husband home for me to speak to?" His hands went back to messing with his hat.

Pointing down the driveway that turned into a two-track near the woods, Jack told him where he would find Riddick. "My husband is down there working with his employee. You should be able to find him if you follow the tracks," she said.

Nodding, Mr. Camp thanked her before he put his hat back on his head and began the walk down the two-track. As he started off he heard the little girl repeat what she had said previously.

"Yes, Aurora, 'A' is for Aurora," Jack agreed.

* * *

><p>At the end of the long line of fields Riddick stopped his tractor that was pulling a flat bed trailer. "Alright guys, this is the last of it!" he grinned. He was happy that the fence was almost complete.<p>

Brent stood up from the shade and walked over to the trailer. "I think we should hire Kayden to help us more often," he told Riddick. "Seems that with three of us we get a ton more done in the same amount of time."

Riddick chuckled as he watched his son set his water canteen down and come over to him and Brent. "I like that idea, but he needs to finish school first. Then there is the university schooling that he has to finish," Riddick mentioned while starting to get the wood fence off the trailer.

"Mom says I can't go away to a university until I'm eighteen. What will I do in the time between graduating school and going away?" Kayden asked. It was a logical question since he would graduate school by the time he was fourteen.

Both Riddick and Brent stopped what they were doing and looked at the boy. "You can help out around here, while you take online university classes like your mom did," Riddick told his son.

They kept chatting while unloading the rest of the wood. Just as they were about to start nailing the horizontal pieces onto the already placed posts, Kayden pointed to the person that was walking down the trail that Riddick had come down with the tractor.

"Dad, someone's coming," he said, trying to get his dad's attention.

As Brent pounded the nail into the wood, Riddick continued to hold the post steady. However, Riddick did look over his shoulder to see who exactly was walking towards them. When the nail was pounded in all the way, Riddick turned fully. It was then that he noticed it was Matt's dad, Mr. Camp.

When Mr. Camp approached them, Riddick touched Kayden's shoulder, "Why don't you head back to the house and see if your mom needs help?"

"But dad," Kayden started to say. He wanted to keep helping with the fence.

Riddick turned just his head and raised a silent eyebrow at his son. It was the look that told Kayden he needed to listen or he wouldn't be watching his favorite cartoons for a few days.

"Okay," Kayden said in a defeated tone. As he walked over to get his canteen he heard his dad finally verbally acknowledge Mr. Camp.

"What brings you out this way?" Riddick asked, while crossing his arms over his chest.

"First, I didn't get to introduce myself yesterday," Mr. Camp held out his hand. "I'm Matt Camp, Sr."

Kayden walked passed the three adults on his way down the trail. He was very curious as to why Matt's dad was there to talk to his own dad. After rounding a small curve in the two-track, Kayden knew he was out of sight; instead of continuing down the trail like he had been told to do, he ducked into the woods and very carefully snuck back around to hide behind a tall heap of dead pine trees that had been cut down.

When Riddick didn't shake his hand, Mr. Camp with drew the offer. "I'm here to apologize for the way I acted yesterday at the school," he said.

Riddick unfolded his arms and moved over to the flat bed trailer. Opening the small cooler he got himself a bottle of water. "I have to admit, I wasn't too impressed with your attitude over your son's behavior," Riddick responded as he opened his water and turned back to face Mr. Camp. "And I sure didn't like what you had to say about my son."

_What did he say about me? _Kayden wondered as he listened.

Brent had been told early this morning what had happened between the parents at the meeting. Riddick told him flat out that if he ever saw Matt's dad in a dark alley, he would be willing to rough him up a little. So as the two guys talked, Brent went about getting the other boards and posts ready to be put together; the whole time he listened though.

Swallowing a lump that formed in his throat, Mr. Camp nodded. "And for that I'm sorry. After talking to the principal yesterday, I realized that your son was born with his eyes shined," he stated.

From his spot behind the trees, Kayden couldn't see what was happening, but he heard everything that was being said. He frowned, wondering why lots of people seemed to hate his eyes when he thought they were really cool.

After draining the water from the bottle, Riddick put the top back on and tossed it onto the trailer. "How did you think he got his shined eyes?" Riddick asked him.

"I…I had assumed that you and your wife had it done when he was born," Mr. Camp said flatly.

Brent stopped what he was doing and looked at Mr. Camp to see if he was being serious.

Riddick tilted his head in question. "You thought I shined his eyes at birth? Why in hell would my wife and I, or any parent for that matter, do that to a helpless child?" Riddick's tone was a little more intense now.

Mr. Camp looked at Riddick and shrugged. "I don't," he started to say but was cut off.

"Do you know how much it hurts to get your eyes shined?" Riddick questioned. "Even if you have the best doctor on any planet do it, it still feels as though they are ripping your eyes out of your head," Riddick wasn't sure why he said that. Maybe it was because he was pissed that this man had the audacity to think he would cause his child pain like that. "I don't understand why some of you people get so worked up over a child with shined eyes," he added. "Not like he's using them as weapons against you or something."

_Super villain maybe? _Kayden let out a quiet snort, which made his hands quickly cover his mouth in hopes he hadn't been heard.

Looking down and taking a deep breath, Mr. Camp spoke again, "I'm sorry, Mr. Richards. It's been a very rough week and at the time I said all of that stuff at the school, I was going on only what Matt and his best friend had told me."

"As adults, isn't it our job to teach our children to think before we act?" Riddick asked him.

"It sure is," Mr. Camp said. "And I had a very long talk with my son last night. He's doing hard labor for his actions; he will be apologizing to your son and to the other two kids as soon as he returns to school."

"That's good to hear, but what are you doing for your actions, Mr. Camp?" Riddick asked, again crossing his arms over his chest.

Looking at Riddick, Mr. Camp breathed in a deep breath. "I'm here to apologize. I'm not sure what else I can do," he told Riddick.

Shaking his head, Riddick turned his back to Mr. Camp. "Thanks for the apology offer now, but I'll accept it when I see that you are finally teaching your son right from wrong," Riddick said as he picked up the next board for Brent to start nailing.

Mr. Camp was a little taken back that his apology hadn't been taken. He stood there for a few moments before he turned and started to walk back the way he had come.

When Brent seen that he was out of site, he looked at Riddick. "Man, if he knew about your past, he surely would be a hell of a lot nicer to you and Kayden."

That remark earned Brent a glare from Riddick. One that even with Riddick's goggles on, Brent could see the man wasn't in a joking mood.

Kayden tilted his head when he heard Brent tell his dad that. He had no idea what it meant, but his dad didn't respond back, so that must mean it wasn't a good joke. From his crouched hiding position Kayden watched as Mr. Camp stopped in his tracks and looked back in the direction of the two working men.

"His past? Wonder what that means?" Mr. Camp mumbled softly, but it was loud enough for Kayden to hear.

Waiting a few moments after Mr. Camp had continued to leave, Kayden was about to sneak back onto the trail when he heard his dad talk.

"I think I'm going to take the tractor and trailer back to the barn and then stop to make sure he hadn't said anything bad to Jack."

Quickly, Kayden moved out of the wooded area and began to run to the house.

* * *

><p>At the house, Rori was sitting in the middle of the kitchen table licking cake batter off a mixing beater.<p>

Jack poured the yellow batter into her two round pans as she smiled at her little girl. "Does that taste good?" she asked and giggled when Rori just nodded a response; her tongue and lips were too busy to form words.

Right then heavy foot steps came stomping up the back steps. Cole let out a single bark as he got up from his spot under the table and headed to the back door.

Kayden appeared through the screen just as Cole got to it. The dog's tail wagged quickly as he saw his best friend. Opening the door, Kayden stepped inside and panted as he reached down to greet Cole.

"What did your dad have you doing that you are so out of breath?" Jack asked with a smile.

Taking his canteen strap from around his neck, he put it on the counter and walked to the sink to wash his hands. "We were building fences, but I ran all the way here because Matt's dad came to talk to dad," he said as he made a gross face.

Jack turned to put the cakes into the oven. "Hope he was nice," she told him.

Shrugging, Kayden dried his hands on a towel and sat down in a chair. "Don't know, because dad sent me back here when he showed up," he wasn't about to tell her he stayed and listened.

"I saw Mr. Camp drive off about a minute ago," she mentioned. "Seems he didn't stay too long."

Again Kayden shrugged, but he soon smiled when Rori used her sticky hand to pick up the other mixing beater and gave it to him. "Thank you, sissy," he told her as he took it.

Rori licked her lips, "Ummy, ummy billy!" She rubbed her belly while telling her brother how yummy it was.

Jack giggled, "She keeps saying it's yummy yummy in her belly, but I think she's wearing more than she's getting into her mouth."

Giggling too, Kayden began to lick his beater.

It wasn't long before Riddick's tractor could be heard pulling up in front of the house and being shut off.

"Your dad better not have ran over my new flowers I just planted," she said to the kids with a sigh.

Rori looked from her mommy to the front door. When Riddick came inside, Rori pointed her messy finger at him. "Dada no mama iddies!" she told him.

Riddick held up his hands as if he was surrendering. "No I didn't run over your mommy's pretties. She would make me sleep out in the barn if I did," Riddick chuckled.

Almost in unison both Rori and Kayden said, "Haha!" which made them giggle together too.

Jack smiled at her husband and could see something was bothering him. "Everything okay?" she asked.

Standing up, Kayden walked around the table to put his beater into the sink. As he wiped his mouth off with a towel, he glanced at his dad.

Riddick gave him a smile as he leaned against the door frame. "Yeah, I just thought I would check in here before I head back out to finish the fence with Brent."

Knowing her husband all too well, Jack knew he had something he either wanted to tell or ask her. Smiling at Rori she picked up the wet cloth she had used earlier on Rori's face and hands. "Kayden, I promised Rori that once the cakes were finished I would take her out and let her play in the sprinkler. If I give you an extra dollar later will you take her out right now?" she asked while starting to wash Rori's face and hands.

Kayden smiled, "Can I run through it in these shorts?" he asked since he didn't feel like going upstairs to change into his swimming trunks.

Lifting Rori's dress over her head, Jack nodded. "You sure can. Rori has big girl undies on so she can go in the water in those."

Rori grinned at her daddy at the mention of her big girl undies. "Dada, Wowi no peepee!" she giggled happily, loving that she knew not to go potty in her underwear. She still had accidents sometimes during the day and wore a diaper to bed at night and nap time, but she was trying her hardest to use the potty all the time. And for being only fifteen months old, she was doing a great job.

Riddick smirked and gave her two thumbs up. "That's my big girl," he told her.

Helping her off the table, Jack kissed Rori's head and then Kayden's. "I'll be out in a few minutes," she told Kayden as he took his sister's hand and walked with her out onto the back porch; he held the door open long enough for Cole to follow.

As soon as Jack watched the kids go down the steps and head to the left side of the back yard, where the sprinkler was located, she turned to Riddick. "So I see that Mr. Camp found you," she mentioned.

Riddick held his hand out to her. When she took it, he pulled her close to him. "He say anything bad to you?" he asked her quietly.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. "Nope! He wanted to say sorry for the way he acted. I told him he needed to tell you sorry since you were the one most offended," she said just as quietly as he had.

Barks and shrieks drifted in from outside, which could mean only one thing: Kayden had turned the water on.

Placing his hands on her hips, he nodded, "I basically told him that I would accept his apology when I could see that he was teaching his son to be a little more respectful."

Jack smiled. "I don't blame you for not accepting it. The things he said were just plain wrong and from his behavior I can see where his son gets it," she told him.

Riddick nodded again. "Wanna know what else he thought?" he asked while frowning.

Jack's smile slipped into a frown as Riddick looked at her. "What?"

"He thought that we had gotten Kayden's eyes shined when he was born. Can you believe that? He actually thought we would purposely cause pain to our baby just to get his eyes like mine," Riddick told her, his tone wasn't as quiet now.

Her mouth fell open at his words. "You're kidding, right? Who in the world would do that to an infant?" she asked, shocked that anyone could think that they would do something like that. "That's horrible."

Sighing, Riddick gave her a quick kiss as Rori began to call for them from outside. "Sure is horrible. Hopefully I set him straight though," he kissed her again, Riddick took Jack's hand in his and lead her outside so they could see what Rori wanted.

Riddick was able to stay for only another short minute before he gave kisses out and headed back to finish helping Brent.

After his dad left, Kayden got one of the towels that Jack had gotten for them. "Mom, can I ask you something?" he asked as he sat down beside her on the steps. He was wearing only his knee length shorts and his bruised side was very evident against his semi-tanned skin.

Jack rubbed her hand up and down his back to help him get warm. "Of course you can," she said.

Rori was busy trying to collect water from the sprinkler in her bucket so that she could pour it onto Cole; who she would giggle at as he would run circles around her when he seen her coming with the bucket that only had a few drops of water in it.

Kayden leaned against his mom as he watched his sister. "Why do people not like my eyes?" he finally asked her.

Frowning, Jack put one arm around his shoulders. "It's not that people don't like your eyes, hun. It's just that they don't understand how or why a child has shined eyes," she told him. "Sometimes when people don't understand something they get scared. Instead of asking questions so that they can learn about it, they get defensive."

"I hope that when Aurora gets big enough to go to school people will be smart enough to ask questions. I don't want her to get picked on like I do," he said.

Jack frowned. She didn't like the thought of either of her children getting picked on. "I hope so too, Kayden!" She kissed his wet hair. "Have I told you recently how much I love your eyes?"

When he looked up at her, he shook his head, "No."

Smiling, Jack began telling him how much she loved his eyes. "I sometimes wish that I could have eyes like you, your dad and Rori. You and your sister are very special to have been born with eyes like your dad's. Can you imagine what it would be like if you were just a plain ol' Kayden?" she giggled.

Kayden laughed, "I'd be boring if I didn't have special eyes."

Jack nodded and smiled, "That's right, boring just like me!"

Leaning into his mom's embrace, he smiled. "You're not boring mom! You're very special to me, Rori and dad!" he told her.

* * *

><p>To Be Continued...<p> 


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18:**

* * *

><p>Smiling, Jack began telling him how much she loved his eyes. "I sometimes wish that I could have eyes like you, your dad and Rori. You and your sister are very special to have been born with eyes like your dad's. Can you imagine what it would be like if you were just a plain ol' Kayden?" she giggled.<p>

Kayden laughed, "I'd be boring if I didn't have special eyes."

Jack nodded and smiled, "That's right, boring just like me!"

Leaning into his mom's embrace, he smiled. "You're not boring mom! You're very special to me, Rori and dad!" he told her.

Jack kissed Kayden's head again. "I'm glad that I'm special to you three," she smiled as she looked over to Aurora who was trying to push Cole into the puddle that was forming near the sprinkler. "Sweetheart, Cole doesn't want to go in the puddle."

The wet little girl looked up at her mommy, she still pushed on the dog while thinking about what her mommy said. She stopped pushing on Cole and stood there smiling, "Ease, mama?"

"Rori, even with your cute 'please' Cole doesn't want to go into the puddle," Jack told her again.

Rori looked from her mommy to Cole before she quickly ran the few feet to the puddle. Sitting down in the puddle, she patted her legs and called for Cole to come to her; the dog sat down and tilted his head as he watched the girl.

Giggling, Jack asked Kayden something, "Do you remember when Aurora was almost ready to be born and you, your dad and I were guessing about if she would have shined eyes or not and if she was going to be a baby brother or sister?"

Looking up at her, Kayden grinned. "I do," he said. "It was funny to hear dad change his mind about what gender the baby was going to be."

_It wasn't unusual for Jack, Riddick and Kayden to pile onto the big bed when it was storming outside. Cole was in his usual hiding spot during storms: under the bed. This storm had been going on since breakfast and now that dinner was over with it looked as though it was hanging around for the night as well._

_Jack leaned back against the head board while Riddick and Kayden were on either side of her. Both of them had their hands on her stomach feeling the way the new baby moved around._

_"The little one sure is active tonight," Riddick said proudly while glancing up at Jack in the dim lit room._

_Nodding, Jack loved the feeling of the baby moving inside her during both of her pregnancies, but today she was finally happy that the baby wasn't using her bladder as a punching bag. "I bet it's because of the storm. He or she always seems to be wide awake when loud noises are happening," Jack stated._

_Kayden moved his hand a little, "I bet the baby will always be on the go, just like you said I was when __I was little, mom!"_

_Jack smiled at her son. "I bet so too. So do you still think you're getting a baby brother?" she asked Kayden; she knew how much he wanted a little brother like Chase and Elaine had._

_At first Kayden glanced at his dad before looking at his mom. "I still think it's a boy. Why would a baby girl kick so much? That's what we boys do," he informed his mom while he grinned._

_Riddick chuckled, "He's got a point there, but maybe it is a baby sister. I wonder if she moves around so much because she always hears you talk about what you, Elaine, Chase and Greg did during the day."_

_Kayden stared at his dad before he started to speak. "Now you think the baby is a girl? All the time you told me and mom it was going to be a boy," he said as he took his hand off from his mom's stomach. "Sometimes I don't think you know what you think," he teased his dad._

_Laughing quietly, Jack smiled. "Well if I can give my thoughts. I think this one is going to be a little princess, simply because I need another girl in the house," she said. "But if it's another prince then I'll be just as thrilled to have him here with us."_

_Both Riddick and Kayden agreed with Jack. No matter if it was a little boy or girl they would be happy to welcome him or her into their family._

_After a few minutes of the guys talking to Jack's stomach, Kayden looked up at Jack. "Mom, do you hope the baby has normal eyes like you so that you aren't left out?" he asked, curious to hear what his mom thought._

_After thinking for a few moments, Jack finally answered, "I think that being born with special eyes is a great gift to receive. It gives you opportunities that a baby wouldn't normally get."_

_"Like what?" Kayden asked; he loved to ask questions about any topic._

_"Well, for instance, when you were a baby and would wake up in the middle of the night, instead of crying right away you would sometimes look up at your mobile and talk to that. If you didn't have shined eyes you wouldn't have been able to see those little bears above you," she told him. "Then there are things like when you get to be bigger like you are now, you go hunting at night with your dad and a flash light would scare the animals away before you spotted them," she smiled. "But with your shined eyes you can spot the animals before they spot you. So because of all that even though I would be the only one with normal eyes I won't feel left out. I'll just be happy for all the things that you three can help me do when it's dark."_

_Riddick lifted his head so he could see his son over top of Jack. "She will only be jealous when she's still stubbing her toes in the dark and we aren't," he added._

_Both Jack and Kayden laughed. Jack began to rub her stomach as she smiled down at it. "So I kind of hope the baby is born with special eyes to match you and your dad's eyes, but if the baby is born with normal eyes like me..." she was cut off by Kayden._

_"We will still love him or her," he finished his mom's sentence.__  
><em>_  
><em>_"And she came out with beautiful big silver eyes," Jack said as they finished remembering._

Kayden looked over to Rori who was standing inside her bucket with both feet. "And she's still active, just like we all predicted," he stated.

* * *

><p>After leaving Mr. and Mrs. Richards' house, Matt Camp, Sr. returned to his very small office at his job. Picking up his cup of fresh coffee, he took a drink from it and thought about the remark he heard Mr. Richards' employee say: <em>"Man, if he knew about your past, he surely would be a hell of a lot nicer to you and Kayden."<em>

"What exactly did that guy mean?" he asked out loud as he continued to think.

Instead of working on the pay roll for the saw mill employees, Mr. Camp flipped on his computer and connected to the internet. "Robert Richards," he mumbled as his fingers typed the name into a search engine.

His eyes scanned over the results that appeared from the search. He clicked on the first three links and they all turned out to be junk; nothing to do with the Robert Richards that he was looking for.

Finally, the fourth link had a description that sounded like it might be for the right person: R&J Farms, Inc. is a wholesale grower of apple, lemon, and orange trees that produce over 10 varieties of top quality apples, two varieties of lemons and ...

Clicking on that link took Mr. Camp to the website that Jack had set up for Riddick's business. Again, Mr. Camp allowed his eyes to quickly glance over the information and pictures of the farm. At the bottom of the page was contact information for R&J Farms: For fruit and delivery pricing contact R&J Farms at: 5-990-14599-87642.

"Hmm," Mr. Camp thought while he jotted down the number and name of the farm. "Since he has a website, I'm assuming he has a business contract through The Urizane Counsel Board."

Peeking her head inside Mr. Camp's office, his secretary, Nancy, looked at him. "Were you talking to me, Mr. Camp?" she asked since she had heard him speaking out loud.

Mr. Camp looked up from his computer. "What?" he asked at first, but then shook his head. "No, I'm just thinking out loud again."

Shrugging, Nancy returned to her desk to finish her work.

Switching back to the main search engine window, Mr. Camp pulled up the web site address for The Urizane Counsel Board. He had been to this website many times so it didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.

Since he was a business owner, he had access to the basic information that people had to provide when trying to register their business with the board. He quickly typed in the farm name and pulled up the information he wanted.

**Company name: R&J Farms****  
><strong>**Address of company: 178564 Zurther Road****  
><strong>**Business phone: 5-990-14599-87642****  
><strong>**Owner(s): Robert and Jacqueline Richards****

Mr. Camp knew the stars next to Robert and Jacqueline's names meant there was some detail that would be found in a footnote at the bottom of the page. He didn't even bother reading the established date, number of employees, or type of business areas. Scrolling down to the very bottom Mr. Camp read the small print: ** - No picture of the company owner(s) was provided for publication.

_Can't find anything online about Robert Richards and he doesn't want his picture published by the board that allows him to have his business on this planet, _he thought; he made sure to not think out loud since he didn't want his nosey secretary to ask any more questions. Everyone else has pictures, he thought again while scrolling through the long list of businesses.

Leaning back in his chair, he ran his hands over his face as he sighed. He tried to think of how he might be able to find out more information about Robert. Suddenly a light bulb turned on in his head as he vigorously typed into the search engine once again.

Pulling up the website to the local hospital, he knew there had to be birth announcements for the Richards' kids. Normally in each announcement that was put out by the hospital, it told where each parent was originally from and gave pictures of the parents with the baby. In the hospital's birth archives, he typed in Kayden Richards; to his surprise, when he clicked enter, he received a message that read: No birth records found.

"What do you mean, no birth records found?" he asked out loud again. "That can't be."

This time when he typed in Kayden's name, he tried it with a different spelling: Cayden Richards.

No birth record found.

_Seriously? How is that possible? _he questioned not the computer, but himself. _What about the daughter?_

Mr. Camp placed his fingers over the letter keys on his keyboard. "Aurora," he said out loud. "A-rrrrr-oooor-a," he did his best to sound it out. "Arora Richards," was what he typed in.

No birth record found.

"Damn it," he said with a sigh. "Nancy," he suddenly yelled. "How do you spell Aurora?"

Nancy appeared in the doorway a moment later. "Aurora? As in Aurora Borealis?" she questioned.

Puzzled, he looked at her. "As in what?" he shook his head. "Don't answer that. I need to know how to spell the name Aurora."

"I believe it's spelled the same way, Mr. Camp," she told him.

He looked at her for a minute while he waited for her to spell it. When she didn't do or say anything he finally made a hurry up motion with his hands, "Okay, and how is it spelled?"

"A-u-r-o-r-a," Nancy spelled it for him slowly as he typed it.

As soon as Mr. Camp entered the information into the search area of the hospital, he groaned loudly. "Still no record found," he said.

"What exactly are you looking for, Mr. Camp?" she questioned.

Shutting the computer screen off, he turned to look at her. "Clearly I'm searching for something that someone doesn't want people to find," he told her as he stood up. "I'm heading home early today."

Nancy moved to the side as he passed her. She was a little confused by the way he was behaving, but it really wasn't much different than how he normally acted. "Okay, have a good weekend, Mr. Camp," she called after him.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Mr. Camp sat at his kitchen table drinking a beer while his wife did the dinner dishes. "He has to be hiding something! Why else would they not submit a picture for the board's website and not have birth announcements for their kids?" he asked his wife.<p>

"Matt, I don't think there is anything to be concerned about. Maybe they don't own a camera, so they couldn't submit a picture for those things," his wife tried to reason with her hard headed husband.

He looked over at her. "There are plenty of people on this planet that own a camera, they could have asked someone else to take the picture," he informed her. "And besides, why would that guy mention Robert's past if there is nothing in his past?"

She was beginning to lose her patience with her husband over the matter at hand. "Matthew Carter Camp, Sr. I really wish you would just stop worrying about what some man joked about with his boss and worry a little more about your son being a bully," she told him sternly. "If you were to take a moment and think properly, you would remember all the times that you have told me something that your employees joked with you about. So from this moment on, I am refusing to hear you talk about this any more."

"But all the clues lead up to Robert hiding something," he told her.

Shaking her head, she turned her back to him so she could finish washing the dishes. "And if you would have paid a little more attention to what we heard at the school yesterday, you would be figuring out a way to teach our son not to be a bully instead of trying to find reasons to blame poor Kayden as the bully," she said. After all, she knew that her husband was trying to find dirt on Kayden's father so that Matt would have a reason to point the finger at Kayden for being the undisciplined child.

His wife was using the tone that told him she wasn't going to agree with him no matter what he did or said. "I'm going to prove to you what I'm talking about," he told her as he threw his empty beer bottle into the trash and left the kitchen.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19:**

* * *

><p>Monday morning didn't come fast enough for Mr. Camp. Getting to work earlier than normal, he turned on his computer and looked back over Robert's business information on The Urizane Counsel Board's website. He found that the only employee listed was Brent Overly; not recognizing the last name, he knew Brent must not have been raised here or he would know his parents.<p>

It was a little after the saw mill opened for the day that Mr. Camp started his rounds to make sure his employees had their work orders for the day. Turning the corner of the main building, he saw one of his men talking to a customer. Walking a little closer, Mr. Camp recognized the customer to be Brent Overly. "Well, if it isn't the devil himself," he whispered.

Continuing his walk towards the two men, Mr. Camp smiled. "Good morning, gentlemen," he said cheerfully to them.

Braxton, Mr. Camp's newest employee, looked up. "Good morning, Mr. Camp," he smiled back. "I was just telling this customer that I would bring him to you, because I haven't fully learned where all the different types of wood are kept."

Mr. Camp nodded as nicely as he could. "No problem with that, Braxton, we all had to learn when we first started here as well," he told him. Looking at Brent, Mr. Camp acted like he was trying to remember where he had seen him before. "Have we met before?"

Nodding slowly, Brent knew exactly who this guy was. When Robert told him he would have to come to Camp's Wood Mill while Robert was away doing the deliveries, he had no clue that Mr. Camp worked there. "Yeah, I believe we met at my place of employment late last week," he said.

"Oh that's right. You work for...Mr. Richards," he said, still acting like it was just then coming back to him.

Brent nodded again, "That's right." He motioned towards the paper Braxton was holding. "I, ah, I need to get this order filled today if possible," he told Mr. Camp, not taking his eyes off him.

Reaching for the paper, Mr. Camp grinned. "Of course. Braxton, why don't you head off to your station and I'll take care of Mr. Overly."

Brent tilted his head to the side a little, something he picked up from Robert, since the man did it an awful lot. "How did you know my name?" he asked as he began to follow the older guy.

"What?" Mr. Camp asked, not stopping as they headed to his office to look in the computer to see if they had the wood in stock that Brent needed.

"I don't recall giving you my name today," Brent said.

Opening the door to the office for him, Mr. Camp shrugged, "Must have told it to me last week when I met you."

Brent sat down in the chair on the other side of Mr. Camp's desk. "Okay," was all he said, even though he didn't remember talking to him at all.

As he began to check the computer for the lumber information Brent needed, Mr. Camp glanced up at him, "So Mr. Richards couldn't make it in to place the order today?"

Shaking his head, Brent sat back in the chair. "Nope, he's currently off world on a delivery. Told me your guys would be able to help me out with the wood," he told him.

Mr. Camp took a couple of notes based on what he was reading on the computer. "How long have you worked for Mr. Richards?" he asked.

"Close to ten years," he told him. "It's nice to work close to home."

Nodding, Mr. Camp put his pen down and leaned back in his chair. "I'm sure it is. Don't have to worry about long drives to and from work," his eyes flicked back over to the computer. "Just have to wait for this old heap of junk to process what I entered and it will be sent to the other computer for the boys to start filling the order," he mentioned to the other man so that it didn't look like he was stalling; even though he really was.

Brent smirked a little, "Okay."

"So then, you are just Mr. Richards' employee or are you friends as well?" Mr. Camp questioned.

Narrowing his eyes a little, Brent was pretty sure this wasn't normal conversation that Mr. Camp would have with guys that came in here wanting to buy wood from the saw mill. He decided to entertain the man's questions, but he wasn't going to volunteer much information, "Guess you could say we are pretty good friends."

Mr. Camp pressed a couple of keys on his computer and clicked his mouse on something. "That's always nice to hear. Would hate for a boss to be treating his employee bad," he stated.

"What would make you think he'd treat me or anyone else bad?" Brent asked, starting to get a little defensive.

"For starters, the way he talked to me the other day when I came to apologize wasn't very friendly," he told him.

Raising an eyebrow at the man's statement, Brent tried not to laugh. "That's funny that you think that considering what I heard about your demeanor at the school, Mr. Camp." He gestured toward the computer, "The dinosaur done processing yet?" he asked, just wanting to get out of there.

Mr. Camp didn't even look at the computer, he just kept his eyes on Brent. "Now, Mr. Overly, let me explain my thinking here," he said. Leaning his elbows on the desk, he continued, "For a man that has no background that can be found on the internet, he quickly became very defensive when I simply came over to say sorry for my actions. Doesn't that seem a little weird to you?"

Sighing, Brent really wanted to leave now. "I have no idea what you are talking about, but since you seem so worked up over it, why don't you explain what the hell you are talking about," he stated as he sat up straighter in his chair.

"Don't play dumb, Mr. Overly. I heard your comment about Mr. Richards' past as I was leaving. So I decided to find out exactly who I was doing business with," he said.

As the other man was talking, Brent ran a hand through his short hair. _Oh shit, _he thought.

"Can't find any records of Robert Richards living any place but here. And I remember clearly that they moved to Urizane many years ago, can't help but notice a large man with a teenage girl. Oh and then there is the matter of no birth announcements for the kids, why do you think that is?" he asked, wanting to hear what Brent thought about this.

Brent did laugh that time, "Of course you wouldn't find any records about him. I'm sure you are aware, and if you aren't it's easy to search for on the internet, orphanages keep their records sealed. So of course you won't find any records of my boss before he was eighteen. Not that it's any of your business, but when Mr. Richards became of age and was kicked out of the orphanage. He didn't own any property so he traveled from planet to planet trying to find a place that he could finally call home." Brent was staring daggers into Mr. Camp, but other than that he kept his cool. "Now about the children, just because a couple doesn't want their child's birth announced doesn't mean they are hiding something. Since you obviously checked for my name on the internet, did you also search for my kid's birth records? Bet you can't find them on there either. Wanna know why, Mr. Camp?"

Mr. Camp's adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. He finally gave Brent a simple nod for an answer.

"Because at the time that my wife had our twins, we didn't have the money to put out a birth announcement. And why would we want to do that when we didn't have any friends here yet since we just moved here? Did you think of that reason when snooping for details about Mr. and Mrs. Richards?" he was trying to keep his voice calm and even, but it was actually pissing him off that Mr. Camp would first say such horrible things about Kayden and now trying to dig up dirt on Robert.

Mr. Camp quickly hit a couple more keys on his computer so that the order, that had been sitting idle in his computer, would now be sent out to the boys to fill it. "But your comment made it sound like he had a criminal history or something," he added.

Brent rolled his eyes, "You went to all this trouble just because of some stupid joke that I said to my boss? Did you find a criminal background on him?"

Shaking his head, Mr. Camp stood up to grab the printed paperwork that Brent would need to sign, "No."

"Of course you didn't, because my boss doesn't have a criminal past. And besides, even if he did have a criminal background, who really cares? I know for a fact there are several men in this town that have been in prison, yet I don't see you treating them like crap," Brent stared at him as he came back and sat in his chair. "My boss is a great husband, father and friend. He works hard to make sure that not only his family is well taken care of, but that I have enough to take care of my growing family as well." With that he stood up. "Now is my order done yet or what?" Brent's tone had been stern and steady since Mr. Camp walked back to his desk.

Mr. Camp sat there speechless for a moment before he slid the paperwork across the desk for Brent to sign. "Will this be put on the company's tab?" Mr. Camp asked.

Brent just nodded as he quickly signed his name; he knew if he said another word to the jerk across the desk that he wouldn't be able to control his anger any longer.

As Brent headed for the door, Mr. Camp stood up quickly. "I'm really sorry about what I accused..." he was quickly cut off.

Brent looked over his shoulder at him, "I won't be telling my boss about this, but if I find out you are still accusing him of stuff or accusing others then I will be talking to the business board about your behavior." Brent quickly left the office and headed out to pull his truck around for the guys to load the wood onto the flat bed he was hauling.

_Robbie's going to have a fit when he finds out what Mr. Camp was doing. Let's hope I scared him good enough that he won't try to fuck with Kayden or Robbie anymore, _Brent thought as he climbed into his truck.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Kayden sat on the bench in front of his school. Davey and Holly had already been picked up so that left him alone as he waited for his mom. Since he had finished his library book that he had checked out earlier in the week, he was trying to read from a new one that Ms. Scott had let him go get.<p>

Even as he tried to concentrate on his reading, Kayden's mind kept going back to how his first day back as school from his suspension had been. Over all it had been a good day. Since Matt and Bruce were still on suspension until at least Friday, him, Davey and Holly had enjoyed a peaceful day of no one getting picked on.

_It had been a long time since us three amigos have been able to do our own thing at lunch time without having to look over our shoulders to see where the two jerks were, _he thought to himself as he gave up on reading.

Kayden looked down on his lap for his book mark. When he didn't see it, he stood up to see if it had fallen on the ground. _Dang it, I must have left it in the book I returned this afternoon, _he thought while he quickly looked at his watch that matched his mom's. Stuffing the book into his backpack, he headed back inside the school. _If I hurry I can get the book mark and be back out there before my mom and Rori get there._

Once inside, Kayden walked as fast as he could past the office and down the hallway to the library. He pushed open the door and silently walked inside.

"Mr. Richards, shouldn't you be home by now?" the librarian asked with a smile as she looked up from her desk.

Kayden smiled back, "My mom is running a little late." He walked passed the desk and directly to the basket where students return their checked out books. He frowned seeing it empty. "Mrs. Cooper, did you already put the books that were returned today on the shelves?" he asked.

Standing up, she nodded, "I did. Did you forget your book mark again?"

Nodding, Kayden moved to where he knew the amphibian books were at. "Yeah, and this is a new book mark my dad brought me back from one of his work trips. I don't want to lose it," he told her while scanning the books to find the title that he returned. When he found the one he was looking for he took the book off the shelf and smiled again when the book mark was spotted at the very end of the book.

"Is it in there?" Mrs. Cooper asked from behind Kayden.

Placing the book back in its spot on the shelf, Kayden turned and held it up. "Warning: Genius at work!" he laughed when she grinned. "He got this book mark and a sign that I have hung on my bedroom door. The sign says the exact same thing," he added.

"Well, your dad has to be the best dad in the world to get you those two things. And the saying fits you perfectly," she said with a smile.

"Thank you," looking at his watch again, Kayden put the book mark in his pocket since his backpack was on his back. "I have to get back out front or my mom might worry. I'm sure I will see you tomorrow, Mrs. Cooper!" he told her as he started to head out of the library.

He walked down the hallway a little slower this time. As he passed the office he peered into the large glass window to see if the secretary was still working. _Mrs. Wolfe says some nights she's here until six, I wonder if even the secretary stays that late, _he thought as he watched her type away on her computer.

As he turned the corner he stopped, seeing Matt's dad entering the building through the big double doors. Quickly, Kayden ducked back around the corner and stood with his back pressed up against the wall. After a moment he heard voices in the office and, peeking back into the large glass window, Kayden could see Mr. Camp leaning on the secretary's desk. _Must be getting homework for Matt, _Kayden thought. Looking at Mr. Camp a little longer, he thought back to when the man was at his house. _I wonder if he went back over to my house to ask my mom questions again since my dad is gone? _he wondered, since all weekend he had thought about what Brent had said about his dad's past and the fact that Mr. Camp had looked intrigued by it.

Taking the opportunity to not be noticed by either adult, he walked as fast and as quiet as he could. Looking through the double doors, Kayden could see his mom carrying Rori up the side walk.

As soon as he was out of the building, Kayden took off running full speed towards his mom. "We have to go mom," he told her as he reached them.

Rori clapped her hands. "Hi, Den!" she said cheerfully.

"I thought we agreed you would wait on the bench for me on the days I'm running late, Kayden," she reminded him.

Kayden said hi to his sister before taking his mom's hand and pulled her gently back towards the truck. "I was waiting there, but I forgot my book mark again in my returned library book," he informed her.

"Oh, I see." Jack was letting Kayden pull her. "What's the rush?" she asked.

Kayden looked at her and pointed to the sign, "We can't loiter after school hours!"

Giggling, she adjusted her little girl on her hip. "We aren't loitering, we are here on official business," she told him.

"And what official business is that?" he asked with a laugh.

Rori smiled down at her brother, "Den um tool!"

Laughing, Kayden opened the passenger side door. "Getting me from school isn't official business, Rori. Official business is like doing spy work for a government or being a lawyer and trying to get bad guys put into prison," he told his little sister as Jack buckled her into her car seat.

Shaking her head no, Rori kept smiling at her brother. It seemed that whatever someone told her something she didn't understand, Rori would just smile and shake her head no.

As Kayden climbed into the truck, he spotted Mr. Camp over his mom's shoulder. Jack followed his line of sight and frowned. "Is that why you are in a rush, Kayden? Did he say something to you?" she asked, wanting to let Mr. Camp know he wasn't allowed to talk to her son if that was what he had done.

Kayden shook his head. "It's why I'm rushing, but he didn't even see me mom. Can we go now?" he asked her.

Jack shut the door without giving him an answer. Walking around the front of the truck, she tried to get into the truck without being noticed as well.

"Hello, Mrs. Richards," Mr. Camp said.

_Just my luck! _"Hello, Mr. Camp," she responded nicely. As he walked towards her and looked as though he was going to continue a conversation with her, Jack held up her hand to stop him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Camp, but my husband doesn't want me talking to you unless he is here as well. Have a nice evening," she told him and opened her truck door.

He looked at her as if he was taken aback by her demeanor, but he didn't say anything else since Jack shut the door and started her truck.

Other than Rori taking off her shoes and socks to count her toes in the back seat, the ride home was quiet. Kayden looked out the window until they reached their driveway. "Mom, did dad call you today?" he asked her.

Jack parked the truck and looked at him, "He sure did." When Riddick was away he would call every night to tell them good night, but he would sometimes call Jack during the day just to check in

"Is he still coming home tonight?" he finally looked at her.

Smiling, Jack nodded, "He is. He should be home in a couple of hours."

Unbuckling his seat belt, Kayden opened his door. "Good, because I need to talk to him about some stuff," he told her as he got out of the truck.

"Anything I can help you with before he gets home?" she asked while helping Rori out of her seat and out of the truck.

Kayden shrugged and walked around the truck to be by his mom. "I know I need to be nice to people if I want people to be nice to me," he started to say as he watched Rori come over to him. Letting Rori take his hand, they slowly walked towards the house. "But I don't think I should have to be nice to Mr. Camp, since he's not nice to me and dad."

Jack took in a deep breath and was about to try to explain again to Kayden why they still needed to be polite, but Kayden started talking again.

"I think that dad should just tell Mr. Camp about his past so that Mr. Camp will be nice to us," he looked up to his mom. "But what I want to know is what did dad do in his past that would make Mr. Camp be nice to us?"

With wide eyes, Jack's jaw dropped open at what her son just said and asked.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!<strong>


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

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><p>"I think that dad should just tell Mr. Camp about his past so that Mr. Camp will be nice to us," Kayden looked up to his mom. "But what I want to know is, what did dad do in his past that would make Mr. Camp be nice to us?"<p>

With wide eyes, Jack's jaw dropped open at what her son just said and asked.

Rori, who was still holding her brother's hand, looked up at her mommy as if she was waiting for an answer, just like Kayden.

Jack swallowed and licked her lips while trying to think of how to respond. "Where did you hear that there is something in your dad's past that would make Mr. Camp be nice?" she asked, thinking that asking him more information would give her time to think.

Reaching for her mommy's hand, Rori moved towards the steps. With her brother and mommy with her she started to walk up the steps. "Un, tow, twee," she counted the steps out loud.

When Rori was done counting, Jack unlocked the front door and looked back at Kayden, who hadn't answered her question yet. "Kayden, where did you hear that?" she asked in a softer tone, because she could see that he was looking a little nervous.

Kayden walked into the house with his eyes down on the floor. "I can't tell you, because then I will get in trouble," he told her truthfully; he knew he wasn't supposed to listen to adult conversations.

Jack put her bag and Rori's shoes down on the floor before she moved to sit on the couch. "Hun, I promise you won't get into trouble, but I need to know where you heard that from." At the moment she wasn't worried about disciplining Kayden for whatever it was he thought he had done wrong, right now she was worried about where he had heard this and who had said it.

Nodding, Kayden sat down next to her on the couch; he purposely put his back pack on his lap so that his hands had something to concentrate on. "The other day when Mr. Camp came here, dad had told me to come back to the house while he talked to him," he said and his fingers started to mess with one of the zippers on his bag.

Jack nodded. "I remember you came back here out of breath. Did Mr. Camp say something that scared you?" she asked, adjusting herself so she was sitting back fully.

With a sigh, Kayden shook his head. "No. I was out of breath because after I listened to dad and Mr. Camp's conversation, I ran back here quickly so that no one would know I had listened," he told her. Finally looking up at her he spoke again. "Now remember, you promised I wasn't going to get into trouble, so you can't take away my radio for listening to an adult conversation," he reminded her.

Smiling at her son, she nodded. "Don't worry, I remember what I promised," she told him, knowing how much he hated when they took his radio out of his room for a day or more. "Since you aren't going to get into trouble for listening to it, why don't you tell me what you heard. Who was the one that mentioned your dad's past?"

Glancing over to Rori, who was trying to convince Cole to sit in the big bean bag chair with her, Kayden told his mom everything that he remembered about what was said between his dad and Mr. Camp.

"And then as Mr. Camp was leaving, we both heard Brent tell dad that if Mr. Camp knew about dad's past, then Mr. Camp would be nice to not only dad but me too," he told her as he ended his story.

During the retelling of what had happened, Jack had moved her arm around Kayden's shoulders and pulled him closer to her. The only thing that was going through her head was that she was going to kill Brent for having a big mouth. _Can't kill him though because then who would take care of the kids with Marcy? _she thought.

"Are you going to tell me what Brent meant?" Kayden asked when she didn't say anything.

With a big sigh, Jack shook her head. "I need to talk to your dad about it when he gets home first," she told him.

Kayden sat up to look at her with a frown. "Why do you have to talk to him? Why can't you just tell me, mom?"

Frowning back at him, Jack shook her head, "Because some topics parents need to talk to each other about before they talk to their children. This is one of those things."

Right at that moment Rori sat up on the bean bag. "Mama, Wowi peepee," she informed her mommy loudly as she tried to crawl over top of Cole, who had been laying next to her on the chair.

"Oh my goodness, let's hurry to the potty," Jack said with a big grin. Standing up, Jack started to follow Rori down the hallway. "Kayden, I promise that either tonight or tomorrow night your dad and I will talk to you about what Brent had meant with what he said," she told him before disappearing down the hallway when Rori yelled for her again.

Kayden allowed himself to fall backwards onto the couch. "I hope it's tonight because I hate waiting," he whispered.

* * *

><p>A couple hours later, Kayden and Rori were sitting on the floor next to the coffee table; they were coloring with crayons on a very large coloring book their mom had bought for them.<p>

Jack stood in the kitchen finishing up dinner. "Your dad should be home any time now," she said. As if on cue, out in the front yard Cole began to bark to let them know someone was there. "Bet that's him now."

Both kids put down their crayons and ran to the front door. Looking out the window, Rori screamed with excitement and began to jump while Kayden worked at unlocking the door and opening it. "It is dad," Kayden told his mom when he got the door opened.

As soon as the door was opened, Rori ran for the steps. "Rori, you wait until he's out of the truck before you go to him," Kayden reminder her of the rule.

Sitting down she scooted quickly down the steps and took off running."Rori stop!" Kayden yelled as he jumped from the top step to the grass and took a couple of strides to grab her.

Parking the truck, Riddick stepped out of it. "Are you not listening to your brother?" he asked while looking at his little girl struggle to get out of her brother's grasp.

"Dada," she yelled and held her arm out like she was reaching for him.

Seeing that his dad was out of the truck, Kayden let go of Rori's other arm and watched as she ran towards him again. "She just missed you, dad," Kayden told him as he followed his sister. "But boy is she fast when she wants to be," he laughed.

Riddick had squatted down so he could give Rori a huge hug. "She's very fast when she has her mind set on getting someplace," he said before extending his arm out for Kayden too.

Kayden smiled and let his dad give him a hug. "It seems like Saturday morning was weeks ago," he told his dad.; Saturday morning was when Riddick had left for this delivery.

"It does, doesn't it?" Riddick asked while letting go of his kids to get his bag out of the truck. "No matter if I'm only gone two nights or five nights, it seems like years to me since I'm not with you guys and your mom," he added.

Rori was tugging on her daddy's pants. "Up, dada," she said, wanting him to carry her.

With his bag in one hand he looked down at her. "What's the magic word, princess?" he asked her, wanting her to say 'please'.

A grin grew on her face and she lifted her arms up to him, "Up ease, dada!"

Chuckling, Riddick sat his bag down and picked her up. "That's right, daddy doesn't do much for you or Kayden without the magic please word," he said, kissing her cheek.

Next to him, Kayden used both hands to pick up his dad's bag. "What do you have in here, rocks?" he asked as he started to carry the bag towards the house.

Riddick grinned at his son. "Not rocks, but lots and lots of bricks," he laughed when Kayden gave him a dirty look. "You know, that dirty look is the same one that your mom gives me."

Kayden climbed the steps in front of his dad, "That's where I learned it from."

"Learned what?" Jack asked as she opened the door for her family.

Letting Kayden go into the house first gave Riddick a chance to give Jack a good long kiss. The only reason he stopped kissing her was because Rori was trying to get them apart so she could give her daddy a kiss too. After he gave his little girl another kiss, Riddick followed his wife inside. "Kayden says he learned giving dirty looks from his mom," he told her.

Jack smiled and shrugged. "Nothing wrong with a dirty look now and then," she winked at her husband. "Kids, dinner is almost done, so why don't you put your crayons and coloring book away and wash your hands!"

Riddick followed Jack into the kitchen as Rori closed the coloring book and Kayden put the crayons back into the box. "Things go good while I was gone?" he asked as he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

Nodding, Jack turned the burners on the stove off and leaned back into his embrace. "Yes and no," she told him quietly.

He sighed and kissed her neck, "What happened?"

"Kayden wants to know what is in your past that would make Mr. Camp be nice to not only you, but to him as well," she flat out told him.

Tensing up a little, Riddick was caught off guard with her statement. "What?" he questioned, letting go of her he moved so he could see her face.

Jack nodded. "On Friday when you told him to come back to the house, he didn't do it. Instead he hid and listened to what you and Mr. Camp talked about," she said. "But I promised Kayden that this time he wouldn't get in trouble for listening to your conversation, so don't even think about grounding him or something," she quickly added.

"Our son is too good at being sneaky," he said while shaking his head. Riddick walked over to the fridge to get a cold drink. "So he heard the stupid joke that Brent made."

She nodded again, she wasn't going to remind him that Kayden was taught by the sneakiest man in all the known worlds, "Not only did he hear it, but he told me that Mr. Camp heard it as well."

"Son of a bitch," Riddick said quietly.

Clearly it wasn't quiet enough because Rori came around the corner to show her mommy she now had clean hands, but ended up scolding her daddy instead. "No day dat, dada," she told him. She knew what the bad words were from all the times that her daddy would swear and her mommy would tell him not to say that.

Given the situation they were talking about, Jack tried not to smile, but the serious look the curly haired little girl was giving her daddy was very funny. "That's right, daddy, don't say that," Jack told Riddick and gave him a matching serious look.

Riddick bent down and scooped his little girl up. "I can say that if I want to," he mumbled as he blew a raspberry onto her little belly.

After she got done laughing and trying to push his head away from her belly, Rori hugged his neck before holding up one finger. "Dada no day dat, mama un ettes," she informed her daddy that he couldn't say those bad words or he would have to give her mommy one credit.

Grinning, Riddick kissed his little girl's cheek. "Only one credit?" he asked while holding up one finger to match the one she had up. "That's cheap! Your mommy makes me pay five credits or sometimes ten," he told her.

Rori's face lit up when he said ten credits. Skillfully, she held up her ten fingers and giggled at her daddy as he did what he did at bed time most nights: kiss each finger while she counts the kisses. This was how Riddick taught Rori to count past five, when she refused to do it for Jack.

Kayden was helping Jack set the table. "If he starts doing this at times other than bed time, he's going to have to kiss her fingers when she wants him to do that when her hands are muddy," he laughed as he tried to whisper that to his mom.

Not being able to stop herself, Jack laughed with him. "That's funny, Kayden. I bet he will do it only if she started to pout," she told her son.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Kayden and Riddick were in Kayden's room slowly putting together a five hundred piece puzzle that had a large dragon and a wizard for the picture. This puzzle was like the rest that Kayden had put together, glued to poster board and hung on his wall: it glowed in the dark. Both Riddick and Kayden were great at getting the puzzles put together and it was something they enjoyed doing together.<p>

When Kayden showed interest in doing lots of puzzles and board games, Riddick made him a wooden table with matching stools to sit on. The table was somewhat in the corner of his bedroom so that it was out of the way of his other hobbies.

During and after dinner, Riddick had been kind of quiet. Kayden noticed it right away, but didn't mention it until they were alone together. "Dad, did your delivery not go well?" he finally asked.

Down the hallway, Rori could be heard laughing while Jack gave her a bath.

Riddick looked up at his son. "Yeah. It went pretty smooth actually," he said as he linked together two pieces.

"Oh. Well is something else bothering you? Because you normally talk a lot more when you come home from being gone," Kayden told him; the puzzle piece he had been looking for was forgotten.

Leaning back a little on the stool, Riddick shook his head, "I was just trying to think of how I should go about talking to you about something, is all."

Kayden bit his lip as he continued to look at his dad. "I know I shouldn't have listened to what you and Mr. Camp were talking about, but I did. I'm sorry and it won't happen again, but don't forget mom promised I wouldn't get in trouble for this time," his voice was quiet as he said it.

Riddick's lips twitched up a tiny bit. "I know and I wasn't trying to think of how to punish you for listening in on an adult conversation," he could see a wave of relief wash over Kayden's face.

They had never laid an angry hand on Kayden as punishment. Kayden had possessions that he loved a lot so depending on the offense, would determine how long his possessions would be taken from his room and placed into Jack and Riddick's room. A complete stranger might think the punishment was more severe by the way Kayden reacted to the punishment at times.

Smiling, Kayden nodded, "So then are we going to talk about your past and why Mr. Camp would be nicer to us?"

Riddick didn't like how easy it was for Kayden to talk about this with him, so his statement made Riddick flinch a little bit. "Maybe," he responded, knowing that Kayden had no clue as to what Riddick had done.

"Why just maybe?" Kayden asked.

"Because sometimes adults..." he paused and started again. "Because I'm not sure..." he stopped for a second time. Running his hands over his face in a scrubbing motion, Riddick tried to think of what to say and how to explain it. "There are some things in my past that I don't think you are old enough to know about," he finally stated.

Kayden tilted his head to the side. "Dad, I'm almost ten years old! I'm not exactly a kid any more," he said with a smile.

Riddick smirked, "I know. But even though you are very mature for your age, I just need to think about what things you need to know and what things you never need to know about."

Watching his dad's face get serious again, Kayden nodded. "Okay, well you know where I live when you are ready to talk about it," he grinned as he tried to make his dad smile again.

It worked, hearing Kayden's small joke made Riddick chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind."

A short time later Riddick put the piece of puzzle down that he had been holding since after he had tried to initiate the conversation with Kayden. "You know how sometimes kids or adults do something that they shouldn't do?" he asked Kayden.

Kayden kept working on the puzzle, "Like being a bully?"

Riddick nodded. "Yeah," he quickly thought some more. "Or maybe stealing or physically hurting others," he added.

Looking up at his dad, Kayden gave him his full attention. He just nodded, but didn't say anything.

"When I was younger I did somethings that," once again he paused and tilted his head to the side. "Let me start over. When I was a new born baby, it was decided that Furyan boys couldn't stay with their parents," Riddick tried very hard to explain things in a way that Kayden would understand, although he didn't want to go into great detail about everything. There were just some things that no kid, especially his nine year old son, needed to hear.

Kayden tilted his head like his dad had. "What's a Furyan?" he asked, just like Riddick figured he would.

"I was born on a planet called Furya. When you are born on Furya, that means you are Furyan. And because I'm Furyan, that means you and Rori are part Furyan too," he could tell that he wasn't doing a very good job explaining this to him yet; and that was saying a lot since Kayden normally caught onto things fairly quickly. Standing up from the stool, Riddick slowly began to look around the room at his son's things. "You know how your mom tells you that sometimes you act like me?"

Kayden nodded, "She says I act like you a lot."

Riddick smiled, "That's because you get some traits from me and when I say you act like your mom that's the traits from your mom coming out. Being a Furyan means that you have special abilities or special traits that you got from me."

Kayden watched his dad pick up his stuffed football, so he got up and held his hands up to catch the ball. "Special abilities like a superhero?" he asked when he tossed the ball back to his dad.

Smiling, Riddick shook his head. "Abilities such as being very smart, athletic, bigger than people your own age," he started a list as he tossed the ball. "Sometimes you have better hearing than others and even being able to sense when something bad is going to happen."

Holding onto the ball, Kayden took in that information. "Like when I told Davey that something was going to happen to Holly. Davey asked how I knew and I told him that I just knew it was going to happen," he mentioned.

Nodding his head, Riddick tossed the football back to him. "Exactly," he said with a grin. "How about the time that we were spending some man time in town and I knew something was wrong here at home?"

Kayden grinned, he was really understanding this part of the talk, "Yeah, we got home and mom had slipped on the steps. I remember that she hurt her arm and it scared Rori so she had been crying really hard."

"That's our Furyan traits," Riddick told him.

He held onto the ball again, "Is that what Brent meant when he talked about your past?"

With a sigh Riddick shrugged. "It kind of has something to do with it. When I was younger, I did a lot of bad things," Riddick sat on Kayden's twin size bed.

Kayden sat down beside him, "What kind of bad things?"

Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on his legs. "Things that no one should ever do. I know that you really want to know what those things were, but I think you need to be a grown man to really understand what I did and why. Okay?" he asked as he looked at his son.

Nodding, Kayden squeezed the football with his hands as he thought. "Is there anything else you can tell me even though I'm not a grown man yet?" he asked.

Thinking, Riddick leaned a little closer. "Think you can keep a secret, even from Davey and Holly?"

Kayden smiled real big, "I'm good with secrets, dad."

"I know you are and I trust that you won't ever mention this to anyone," he glanced at the hallway as Rori's laugh got louder while she streaked naked down the hallway; she was dragging her towel behind her all the way to her bedroom that was built onto the house a couple of years after Kayden was born.

"I promise I won't ever repeat it to anyone, dad," Kayden promised, he loved when he was given secrets to keep.

After Jack had followed Rori down the hallway with her clean pajamas, Cole walked into the bedroom and came over to get some attention from Kayden.

Riddick reached down and started to pet Cole's head. "You know how your mom calls me Riddick?" he asked.

Kayden nodded. "That's your nickname," he said, since that's what his mom had always explained to him.

Shaking his head, Riddick whispered, "My real name is Richard B. Riddick. When your mom and I first met, she knew me by that name. So she calls me that when we are not around other people."

The nine year old's eyes grew huge with this news. "And everyone else calls you Robert Richards," he mumbled more to himself then to his dad.

Riddick could almost see the light switch in Kayden's brain being switched on.

"Did you have to change your name because of the bad things you did?" Kayden asked.

Knowing that Kayden had Jack's determination when it came to wanting to know new things, Riddick was sure he would have to cough up some details about his past life.

With his right pointer finger and thumb rotating his wedding ring Riddick looked at his son.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you have a safe and happy New Year's Eve this weekend!<strong>


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

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><p>As Riddick waited on the back porch for Cole to be done with his two o'clock in the morning bathroom break, he cracked his neck. He had sat on Kayden's bed for over two hours answering questions that the boy had about him. Riddick had done his best not to go into the fact that he had killed people, stolen stuff and things like that. Instead he focused on where he had come from, a not very detailed description of how him and Jack met and the fact that sometimes in life people do certain things in order to survive when they are on their own that they might not do if they had a better choice. Riddick explained the name change as a way to have a fresh start for himself, Jack and eventually their kids.<p>

Kayden seemed to understand why it was important not to tell anyone; something the boy promised not to do. Kayden even taught his dad the promise handshake that him and Davey do: spit in your hand and shake on it.

After Riddick tucked his son in and headed for the door, Kayden had stopped him. '_I'm proud of you, dad,' _Riddick could hear Kayden's words ring through his head. _'I'm proud of you for being brave enough to do the things you needed to in order to survive and be here for mom, Aurora and me.'_

Riddick smiled to himself and whispered out into the darkness, "Someday I'll tell you the whole story, son."

On the way back upstairs, he checked on Kayden who was sound asleep. As he was about to peek into Rori's room, he stopped. From within Rori's room a small thud was heard.

Very quietly he peeked through the slightly opened door. To his surprise Rori was standing in her crib looking down at her baby doll that she had obviously thrown onto the floor.

Not moving a muscle, Riddick continued to watch as his little girl walked to the end of her crib and used her strength to pull herself up so that she could get her leg over the railing. Tilting his head, he studied her movements while she carefully got both legs over the side before allowing herself to slide down and land on the floor.

Rori wasn't used to dropping to the floor from about two feet in the air, so as soon as her feet made contact with the hardwood she fell back onto her pull up and night gown covered butt. She sat there for a moment before she turned and crawled the foot to grab her baby doll. Once she had her baby doll in her hands she stood up and began to walk in the direction of the door.

Riddick saw her coming towards him, so he stepped fully in front of the door. He watched her little fingers appear outside of the door and pull it open. His arms were crossed over his chest and his silver eyes glared down to where he knew she would be as soon as the door was opened more.

As soon as she had opened the door more, Rori's eyes grew wide and she jumped when she saw Riddick standing there. The initial scent of fear that Riddick smelled when she jumped quickly faded when she smiled up at her daddy. "You should be in your crib sleeping, Aurora," Riddick said quietly; his arms were still over his chest and his face was solid.

Rori stood still as she looked up at her daddy. "Ood ownin', dada," she said with a smile.

Shaking his head, Riddick uncrossed his arms and squatted down to see her face to face. "It's not time to say good morning. It's still night night time," he informed her.

Stepping forward, she gave her best pout while hugging her baby. Riddick pouted back and shook his head, "No pouts, you need to go back to sleep." Picking her up, he kissed her cheek, "Do you need to go potty before you go back into your crib?"

"Wowi wink," she said and licked her lips.

"A drink it is," he told her as he began to walk them down to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Riddick sat her on the counter and moved over to the fridge. "What would you like? We have milk, water and apple juice," he listed her options.

Looking like she was thinking, Rori finally smiled. "Ik ease," she replied.

"Say mmmilk," he corrected her.

From her seat on the counter, she listened to him sound out the first letter. She did her best to say it too, "Mmmmmmmik." She clapped her hands thinking she had said it correctly.

"Good job," he got the milk jug out of the fridge and went to get her a sippy cup. When he opened the cupboard, he spotted the box of cookies. "If I give you a cookie, do you promise to go back to sleep for me?" he asked while already getting them each a cookie.

Rori nodded her head and grinned when she saw the chocolate chip cookies.

Riddick sat the two cookies on the table and took out a big glass for him and a little glass for her. He filled both half full before putting the milk back into the fridge and going to get her off the counter. "Let's dip our cookies and then go back to bed," he said after kissing her head.

Sitting down in a chair, he sat her on his lap and dipped his cookie into his glass to remind her how to do it. He grinned when she did it too. "Did you know that your big brother didn't learn to climb out of his crib until he was about seventeen months old?" he asked.

Busy dunking her cookie and fist into her milk, Rori just nodded her head; she wasn't even paying attention to her daddy.

Riddick kissed her tangled curls as he thought about to the first time Kayden escaped from his crib.

_"Daaaddy," Kayden called out somewhat quietly as he stood out in the hallway._

_Riddick felt Jack shift when she heard their almost seventeen month old son calling out for his daddy. He_ _himself, had been awake since he heard through the baby monitor that Kayden had woken up and was chatting to Cole._

_"Is he in the hallway?" Jack whispered as she lifted her head off his chest._

_He nodded. "I think we have another escape artist in the house," he mumbled as the room became a little brighter from the already slightly opened door being pushed further open and the nightlight in the hallway shining in._

_"Daaaddy," Kayden said again; this time he was walking quickly towards the bed with Cole following __right behind him. "Daaaddy up."_

_Removing his arm from around Jack's body, Riddick looked over the edge of the bed. "Thought we left you in your crib?" he asked._

_The side of the bed was filled with giggles. Kayden grabbed a hold of the blanket and tried to pull himself up. "Daaaddy up," he repeated when he couldn't make it onto the bed._

_"What's the magic word?" he asked and as soon as Kayden said please, Riddick got a hold of him below the arm pits and gracefully picked him up. Once he was sitting in the middle of the bed Riddick smiled at him. "You should be sleeping, son," Riddick told him and then playfully gasped when Kayden shook his head. "What do you mean no?"_

_Kayden finished shaking his head before crawling up to the pillows and covering his daddy's eyes the best he could with his little hands. "Ows, daaaddy," he then pointed towards the curtain covered window._

_Jack giggled. "Are you saying the sun is up and it will hurt daddy's eyes?" she asked since she could see a small amount of sun light coming in around the bottom of the curtain._

_"Ows, daaaddy," he repeated again while nodding in agreement to what his mommy had said._

_Smiling, Jack rubbed Kayden's back. "That's so nice of you to keep daddy's eyes from having owies, but you should be in your crib sleeping."_

_Kayden shook his head again, "Den no no eepin', mama."_

_With a playful growl, Riddick covered Kayden with the blankets. "You will be sleeping, Kayden," Riddick said with a chuckle since Kayden had told his mommy he wasn't sleeping anymore._

_Jack kept smiling. It was after seven so she knew Kayden wouldn't be going back to sleep, but she was still wondering exactly how he got out of his crib. "Riddick? Do you think maybe him getting out of his crib means it's time to get him one of those toddler beds that Brent and Marcy have for the twins?"_

_Riddick was making Kayden laugh by growling and putting the blanket back over Kayden's head every time the little guy got it off him. "Might be safer than having him climb over the sides every time he decides he wants out," he told his wife._

_"I would like to see how he got out of the crib though before we go and buy him a bed," she said. "Kayden? Wanna show mommy and daddy how you got out of your crib?" She got off the bed and slipped her house coat over her long baggy t-shirt._

_His hair that had finally grown to be about an inch long stuck up from static when Riddick took the blanket off his head. Kayden stood up and walked on the bed to his mommy so he could go with her._

_Getting out of the bed too, Riddick followed them down the hall to Kayden's room. When Jack stood Kayden in his bed, Kayden started to pout._

_"No eepin', mama," he told her while reaching for her again._

_Jack frowned, "You don't have to go to sleep, baby boy, just show mommy and daddy how you got out!"_

_Kayden stood there pouting, but didn't try to get out._

_Smirking, Riddick took Jack's hand. "Come on, let's go make some yummy sausages for breakfast," he said with a wink since he knew those were something Kayden would eat for every meal if they let him.._

_Walking to the door, Jack looked back at Kayden, "Want some sausages too, Kayden?"_

_He continued to stand there pouting as he watched his parents wave to him. Walking to the end of his crib he held on tight as he worked to pull his upper body over the side of the crib._

_Jack gasped watching him and rushed over to be ready to catch him if he fell. Whereas Riddick just leaned against the door frame with an intrigued expression on his face._

_Once he had his upper body over the side, Kayden worked one leg and then the other over the railing. When his whole body was over the side, he held on with his hands and allowed his weight to pull him down the wooden crib bars and onto the floor._

_"Daaaddy, haudage," he said as he rushed to his daddy._

_Riddick picked him up, "You can have all the sausage you want for figuring out how to do that!" He laughed and looked at Jack. "How we going to keep him in the room once we get him that toddler bed?"_

_"How we going to keep him in his room with this crib?" she giggled as she came over to them, "Since he's just like you, there will be no way to keep him in his room now that he's figured out how to escape."_

Hearing Rori tell him she was all done with her milk and cookie was what brought Riddick back to what was currently happening. "Your mom might have a heart attack if she watches her little girl climb out of the crib," he told her as he reached for the towel to wipe her hands and face off. "You want a big girl bed, Rori?"

Rori smiled at her daddy. "Den bid bid?" she asked.

Riddick grinned, "It will be like Kayden's big bed, but smaller. One that will fit only you!"

She grinned back at him. As her daddy picked her up to carry her back upstairs, she wrapped one arm around his neck while hugging her baby with the other. "Wowi bid bid, Den," she told him with a yawn.

Running a hand up and down her back, Riddick spoke quietly as he reached the top of the steps and headed for the bathroom. "I know you want a big bed like Kayden, but you have to have a princess sized bed so you don't fall off it," he kissed her head.

Once she had declared to her daddy that her pull up was dry and she had gone potty, Rori laid her head back down on his shoulder.

"Daddy is so proud of his princess for having a dry pull up! Soon you can wear big girl undies to sleep at night," he told her as he carried her down the hall to his room.

Rori lifted her head when they entered her mommy and daddy's room, Rori smiled and pointed to her mommy who was still sleeping. "Wowi bid, mama?" she asked, wanting to know if she got to sleep in the bed with her mommy right now.

Nodding, Riddick pulled the covers back and sat her on the bed. "You get to sleep in here tonight with me and mommy. Now move over and lay down with your baby by mommy." With a big smile, Rori did what she was told. Getting into the bed next to Rori, Riddick whispered to her one last time, "Good night, princess." Kissing her hair, he tucked her and her baby doll in under the covers.

* * *

><p>Later that morning, Riddick and Rori pulled in the drive from taking Kayden to school. Stepping out of the truck, Riddick helped Rori get out of the truck.<p>

"Good morning," Brent called from his spot on Riddick's front steps.

"Ood ownin'," Rori said back to Brent as she waited for her daddy to give her her box.

Riddick handed Rori her little doughnut box from the bakery while he carried the bigger box. "You're here early," he said to Brent.

Standing up when Riddick and Rori got closer to the steps, Brent nodded. "Yeah, didn't sleep too well last night, wanted to come over and talk to you about some stuff before we start our work for the day," he mentioned before taking a sip from his coffee cup.

When Brent was done talking, Rori held up her little box. "Bit, Wowi do-not?" she asked, knowing it was nice to offer to share.

Brent grinned, "What kind of doughnuts do you have in there?"

"Ummy, ummy billy!" she told him with a huge grin.

Riddick took her free hand to help her up the steps. "She calls the ones with the sprinkles the kind that are yummy yummy in her belly," he chuckled. "Let's talk inside, I picked up doughnuts, muffins and bagels for breakfast."

Following his boss and Rori into the house, Brent could hear Jack humming in a room down the hallway. From the clean clothes he had already spotted hanging on the line to dry outside, he guessed she was doing more laundry.

"So what's up?" Riddick asked as he put Rori in her high chair and helped her get her box open.

Brent sat down in the chair closest to the back door. "You know how you had me go yesterday morning to get wood to make more pallets for the boxes?" he asked after taking a sip from his coffee.

Opening the large box that held a large variety of baked goods, Riddick gestured for Brent to help himself. "Yeah, I see you were able to get it all," he said while turning to get himself a fresh cup of coffee.

"Yeah, that was no problem. The issue was that I ran into Mr. Camp," he said and watched Riddick stop his movements briefly before setting his coffee down and went about getting Rori a sippy cup of milk. "Apparently he runs the saw mill and he heard my stupid comment about your past," his voice trailed off towards the end of his sentence.

Riddick handed Rori her sippy and took his seat. "I know, Jack and Kayden told me yesterday when I got home," he told him; he made it sound as if it wasn't a big deal.

Brent watched him take a bear claw doughnut and finally reached into the box to grab himself a blueberry muffin. "How did they know he heard it?"

"Kayden overheard the entire conversation with Mr. Camp and asked Jack about it. She then had me talk to Kayden about it," Riddick said. "Did Mr. Camp say something to you about me yesterday, Brent?"

With a mouth full of muffin, Brent just nodded as he chewed. As soon as he swallowed he continued, "Guess he spent all weekend trying to dig up dirt on you."

Riddick's eyes narrowed, "And?"

"And he wasn't able to find anything which I guess pi..." his eyes flickered over to Rori as he caught himself before he swore. "I mean, I guess that made him really mad."

Clearing his throat, Riddick glanced over at Rori who had chocolate frosting on her lips and chin. "You sure he wasn't able to find anything?" he asked when he looked back to Brent.

Brent shook his head, "Nope and that's what made him more suspicious, but I think I set him straight." He took another drink from his cup. "What really caught him off guard was the fact that there were no birth announcements for Kayden and Rori. I guess it's some unwritten law around here that if you don't do that then you are suddenly some mysterious criminal."

Riddick raised a silent eyebrow in Brent's direction.

Smirking, Brent nodded. "Yeah, yeah, yeah I know. But I quickly turned the tables around to my situation. Told him that if he would have bothered to look up my kids he wouldn't find a birth announcement for them either. After all why would we announce the birth of our children to a bunch of strange people that we don't know?" he asked, but he wasn't expecting Riddick to answer. "That and we were broke after buying the house and moving here," he chuckled.

Riddick reached over and helped Rori take a bite of the actual doughnut so that she wasn't eating just the frosting for breakfast. "Anything else I need to know about?" he asked.

"No, dada!" Rori said, thinking he was talking to her.

Smirking, Riddick put her doughnut down. "I was talking to Brent, silly!"

Brent smirked too. "I told him you were an orphan and that's why he couldn't and wouldn't be able to find any records of you before you were eighteen," he shrugged when Riddick looked at him. "What? It's the truth and it makes sense."

"Maybe I should go talk to him, just in case he didn't buy it," he said as he reached for a muffin since he had finished he doughnut.

Just then, Jack walked into the kitchen with a smile on her face and Cole following her, "Good morning, Brent."

"Ood ownin', mama," Rori said even though she had already seen her mommy before going to take Kayden to school.

Leaning down, Jack kissed Rori's head, "Good morning again, sweetheart!"

"Morning, Jack!" Brent replied and looked back at Riddick. "I think he bought it. I even threatened to talk to the business board myself if I found out he was still snooping on you or if he started doing this to other people."

Jack leaned against the cupboard with her coffee mug in her hands. "You guys talking about Mr. Camp?" she asked, curious as to who it was.

Riddick nodded, "Yeah. He approached Brent about it yesterday." He sighed while keeping his eyes locked with Jack's.

Frowning, Jack took a seat at the table. "I don't get why people can't just leave us alone. We are good, honest people and it's not fair that they keep trying to change that," she told them.

"I know, Jack," Riddick said. "But he didn't find anything. And I know you said you scared him, Brent, and I'm sure you did, but I think I'm going to go settle this with him."

Jack looked up from where she has been staring at the table. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

Brent nodded, wanting to know what his plan was as well.

"Wat do?" Rori echoed before she picked up her sippy cup and started to drink from it while staring at her daddy.

All three adults smiled at her. "What I'm going to do is go over to Mr. Camp's office and have a nice, civilized talk with him," Riddick spoke directly at Rori, but was telling Jack and Brent.

Rori smiled back at her daddy.

Jack looked at Riddick, "Do you want me or Brent to go with you?" she asked and then shrugged. "You know for a witness in case he tries anything?"

Nodding his head, Brent agreed with her. "I think that's a good idea, Robbie."

"I think he might talk more candidly with me if it's just him and I together," Riddick said.

* * *

><p>To save a private argument with Jack later, Riddick agreed to allow Brent to go with him to visit Mr. Camp. Pulling up to the saw mill, Riddick looked at Brent. "You stay out with the secretary," he said before getting out of the truck. "I'm sure if I need you, you will hear it!" he told him with a smirk.<p>

Brent was right behind him so he hadn't seen the smirk on Riddick's face; he just hoped it didn't come to blows.

Moments later, the secretary was showing Riddick into Mr. Camp's office.

"Mr. Richards, I hope Mr. Overly didn't forget part of your order yesterday," Mr. Camp said as Riddick walked into the office.

Riddick could already smell the change in the man's scent. "The order was just fine. Although I did hear about an interesting conversation that took place yesterday," Riddick informed him as he took it upon himself to have a seat in front of Mr. Camp's desk.

Mr. Camp sat down too. He looked at the other man for a moment, "What part of the conversation did you find interesting?"

Cocking his head slightly, Riddick leaned forward a little. "The whole thing," he said in a deeper tone than his normal voice.

Swallowing hard, Mr. Camp leaned back in his chair. "Ok," he said before glancing towards the open door.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22:**

* * *

><p>To save a private argument with Jack later, Riddick agreed to allow Brent to go with him to visit Mr. Camp. Pulling up to the saw mill, Riddick looked at Brent. "You stay out with the secretary," he said before getting out of the truck. "I'm sure if I need you, you will hear it!" he said with a smirk.<p>

Brent was right behind him so he hadn't seen the smirk on Riddick's face; he just hoped it didn't come to blows.

Moments later the secretary was showing Riddick into Mr. Camp's office.

"Mr. Richards, I hope Mr. Overly didn't forget part of your order yesterday," Mr. Camp said as Riddick walked into the office.

Riddick could already smell the change in the man's scent. "The order was just fine. Although I did hear about an interesting conversation that took place in this office yesterday," Riddick informed him as he took it upon himself to have a seat in front of Mr. Camp's desk.

Mr. Camp sat down too. He looked at the other man for a moment, "What part of the conversation did you find interesting?"

Cocking his head slightly, Riddick leaned forward a little. "The whole thing," he said in a deeper tone than his normal voice.

Swallowing hard, Mr. Camp leaned back in his chair as if he was trying to put more space between him and the goggled man in front of him. "Ok," he said before glancing towards the open door.

Relaxing back again, Riddick tapped his fingers once on the arms of the chair. His face changed back to somewhat friendly even though his body language told another story. "Figured since you seem to be bored enough to try and find information about me, that I would come down and see if you needed any help with the searching!" He glanced purposely around the office a little. Even though over the years he had done lots of business with the saw mill, he had normally only spoken with the workers; which meant this was the first time he was actually in the boss's office.

"Mr. Richards, I assure you that Mr. Overly was mistaken with the conversation that we had yesterday," Mr. Camp stated.

Riddick sat up slightly straighter, "You don't even know what he told me. So how can you call my employee a liar?"

Quickly, Mr. Camp shook his head. "I'm just saying that I don't know what he told you, but I'm sure he was mistaken," he corrected himself.

Riddick just stared at him for a moment. "So what did you think you would find while looking for stuff about me?" he gestured towards the computer that sat on the desk.

Taking a few swallows from his coffee, Mr. Camp didn't answer right away. "I'll tell you what I believe I told Mr. Overly: I just like to know who I'm doing business with," he said.

He shook his head, "Why don't you try again. What did you think you would find while searching for information about me?"

"I wasn't sure," he finally said with a sigh. "I just thought you were very quick to jump the gun about not accepting my apology."

Riddick raised an eyebrow. "Since that was your reason, I guess it would be alright for me to have my wife do a little investigating of her own, right?" he asked, even though he already had Jack do a little digging of her own this morning.

A confused look came over Mr. Camp's face, "Why would you have her do that?"

"You were really quick to jump the gun about accusing my son of being a bad kid simply for being born with shined eyes," Riddick said, reflecting the man's words back to him.

Mr. Camp clasped his hands together on the desk, "Now Mr. Richards, let me..." he was cut short by Riddick.

"No. I've tried to let you explain several times now and you keep making no sense," Riddick told him as he braced his hands on Mr. Camp's desk. "Now it's your turn to listen to me," his voice was even tempered because he knew he needed to keep his cool. "My wife and I moved here over a decade ago because we were told this town and this planet were safe places to live. We not only started a small business that has grown beyond what we ever thought it would, but we also started a family. We have given a lot of money back to this community by buying local resources that we use for our business. Such as your wood," he said.

A silent nod was given to Riddick.

"Never once have we done anything to make anyone think we were bad people. And I'll tell you what, until your boy and his friend began picking on my son, we had no problems here. So now are you going to sit there and try to tell me that because my children were born with a special gift, that that makes them the bullies? And because I wouldn't accept your apology for bad mouthing my own son, that suddenly makes me some ex-con?" As hard as he tried to keep his voice low so he didn't bring any attention to their conversation, his voice had risen a little towards the end. Leaning back in the chair again, Riddick didn't give Mr. Camp a chance to answer. "As much traveling as I did while I was trying to find a place to settle down, I came across a lot of people. I guess you could say that I specialize in judging people's characters, Mr. Camp. Would you like to know what I think of you?"

The whole time that Riddick was talking, Mr. Camp had been sitting motionless. When Riddick had finally finished and asked him a question, Mr. Camp nodded. "If it will make you feel better about everything, then I guess go ahead and tell me," he said quietly.

Riddick grinned, "I'm sure it will help both of us out." He remained sitting as he crossed his arms and began telling Mr. Camp exactly what he thought of him. "From the moment I saw you sitting in that office at the school, I could see the way you were sweating. When I looked at you, I could see a man that was raised by a strict father; someone who couldn't do anything without getting in trouble. I believe that when you and your wife had started your family, you decided that you would not be like your father," he paused.

Mr. Camp's eyes had a glazed look to them; not in a bored way, but in a thinking way.

"You know that your son needs more discipline than what you give him. Although you refuse to discipline him like he needs, because you don't want to go over board like your father did. So your natural defense was to dig your heels in and find any reason at all to make everyone else but your son, the bad guy so that you don't have to discipline him. Even if that meant to trash talk a nine year old. Am I right so far, Mr. Camp?" Riddick asked, he had long since gone back to a quiet yet stern voice.

Raising his hand from his lap, Mr. Camp reached for his coffee cup. As soon as he picked it up, both men noticed how much the cup shook. Using his other hand, Mr. Camp tried to steady the cup as he took a drink, "What is your goal for telling me this?"

With a small shrug, Riddick answered him. "Just trying to find the reason why you dislike my son and I so much. There has got to be a reason why a grown man would accuse a child of being a monster when it is his own child that is being the unruly one. And there is a reason why you took it so hard when I didn't roll over like a good dog and accept your apology that your wife forced you to make to me," he stated. "Don't you agree?"

Avoiding the question, he spoke harshly, "So what if I was raised in a strict household. I don't think that has anything to do with the way I raise my family and the reason I tried to find out things about your past."

Riddick shook his head, "Maybe I'm wrong." He knew he wasn't. "But you are talking to a father who is doing everything in his power to make sure his son has everything that he didn't have when he was growing up. That includes a stable home and good schooling." Riddick pointed his finger at Mr. Camp, "And there is no one on this planet or any other planet that will stop me from doing that. Since you refuse to tell me why you are doing the things you are, then I guess that leaves me to make up my own reasons."

Mr. Camp stood up with his coffee cup in his hand. He didn't say anything as he walked to the coffee pot behind Riddick and filled his cup up for the third time that morning. "The honest reason why I began searching for background information on you is because of what Mr. Overly said after I was at your house," he said as he walked back to his desk and sat down. "It's as simple as that."

Narrowing his eyes again, Riddick wasn't entirely sure if he was being truthful or not. The fear that he had smelled rolling off Mr. Camp when he walked into the office had turned into anger and now both of those scents had moved on. "So you made yourself look like a fool in front of my employee and myself simply because you didn't understand that it was a joke?"

Doing what he seemed to do best, Mr. Camp just nodded.

"Because you were too lazy to come ask me what he meant, you were willing to risk your business and reputation on a joke," Riddick stated as he looked at the man.

Mr. Camp shook his head, "My business and reputation were never on the line, Mr. Richards. I can assure you that if I were to have found something in your past, the people of this community would have loved to know about it."

Riddick's loud laugh echoed off the barely used walls. "You think these people really care if someone is a criminal?" he asked. He knew some people would care if they found out about his real past, but he wasn't going to let that information slip to Mr. Camp.

"Yes, I do believe they would care. They want themselves and their children to be safe around here, Mr. Richards," he said with a slight smile.

Leaning forward a little, Riddick put his straight face back on; his voice was very quiet, but still as deep as ever. "Coming from a man that is known to be not very nice to certain children, that sure does sound like a load of shit, Mr. Camp," Riddick told him. "But since you think that this community puts a high value on honesty, why don't you and I set up a little meeting with the town and let them know about your past."

Mr. Camp's jaw dropped open, "I have no past." Standing up he gestured towards the door. "I think it's time you left now."

Riddick shook his head and settled back into his chair. "Not until you tell me why you were so hell bent on saying my son was a monster," Riddick casually informed the other man.

Camp's nostrils flared as he took a very deep breath through his nose. "Your son makes every other kid in his grade look stupid," Mr. Camp almost yelled at Riddick.

At that moment Brent and the secretary looked into the office.

Mr. Camp didn't notice though as he continued, "My kid comes home with failing grades because he's struggling with his school work and he tells me how many times your son has shown off his high marks on his tests."

Riddick tilted his head to the side, "How can my son show your kid his tests results when they aren't even in the same class for work time?"

Mr. Camp quickly nodded. "They are too in the same class. The class photo had your son in the same class with mine," he informed Riddick, thinking he was right.

"Even though my son is in a special class for the higher leveled kids, by law he still has to be in a class with kids his own age. So of course he was in the class photo and he's in there for silent reading time and recess. And if you try to tell me that your kid told you my son gets a better grade at silent reading time, then I will know you and your son are both still full of shit," Riddick told him. He was still sitting, but stared at Mr. Camp from behind his goggles the entire time he spoke. When the other man's face went blank a little, Riddick shook his head. "Your son told you that didn't he?"

Mr. Camp had slouched forward for a moment. When it registered that his son might be lying, he quickly stood straight again, "He told me no such thing."

Chuckling quietly, Riddick stood up and took a step towards Mr. Camp. "I'm going to be leaving now, but if I were in your position, I would be having a little chat with your son," he said, making his voice go deeper than normal; it could even be considered a growl. Walking towards the exit, Riddick watched Brent and the secretary quickly move away from the door. Riddick stopped and turned to look at Mr. Camp again, "Another thing, since we couldn't come to a mutual understanding, I guess we have to leave it like this: if I find out you are still trying to trash my name and reputation around here by making false allegations about me and a mystery past that I don't have, I may just have to accidentally send out an email to the Board members about certain issues that got you thrown into lockup for one hundred and forty days."

Mr. Camp swallowed hard as he watched the other man walk out of his office.

* * *

><p>Once in the truck, Brent looked at Riddick. "That man has some nerve to continue to blame Kayden for all this shit," Brent said, still not believing what he had heard.<p>

Riddick shook his head as he drove out of the parking lot. "I could see it at the end, he knows his son is to blame. Now we just have to see if he's willing to man up and do something about it," Riddick told him, but in his mind he was trying to figure out what to do if the bastard didn't straighten up.

The two men were quiet as the truck moved through town. When they were close to his house, Riddick finally broke the silence. "I honestly don't feel like working today. We don't have anything real important to do, so why don't you take the day off," he suggested.

Brent looked over at his boss and good friend. "Sounds like a plan. Marcy didn't get much sleep last night so I'm sure she would appreciate the nap time while I hang out with Greg," he said.

Since Brent had walked over to Riddick's earlier that morning, Riddick decided to be nice and drop him off at his house. "Tomorrow we can work on putting together the new pallets and breaking up the ones that are dilapidated," Riddick mentioned.

After being close to Riddick all these years, Brent could tell that the other man was worried about what happened today, even though Riddick was doing his best to hide it. "Alright. If you need anything today or tonight, just give me a call," he said before opening the passenger door and stepping out. "If I don't hear from you, than I'll just see you in the morning."

Riddick nodded, "Alright." Riddick gave him a normal smile.

Not even twenty seconds later, Riddick was getting out of the truck and walking into his own house. As soon as he shut the front door, he could tell something was off. The usual daily sounds that filled the house were not present and Rori's cheerful voice wasn't greeting him. Walking to the bottom of the stairs, he looked up them and could smell both of his girls. _Some thing's off with Jack, _he thought as he took the steps two at a time.

Once he reached the top of the steps, he could faintly hear the quiet words that Rori was saying. Passing the bathroom and Kayden's room, he could finally make out that it sounded as if Rori was reading. As he stopped in front of his bedroom, Cole's tail thumped against the area rug that he was laying on.

When Cole made a noise, Rori lifted her head from the pillow and tried to see the dog without moving. Not even being able to see who was standing in the hallway, Rori whispered to the person, "Hi, dada."

Moving into the room, he smiled when he saw her big smile. She was laying on her back in the middle of the bed with her head on Riddick's pillow. Jack was sleeping next to her with her arm laying gently across Rori's stomach; Riddick's guess was so that if Rori moved Jack would feel it and wake up.

"What are you and mommy doing?" Riddick whispered as he squatted down next to the bed so that he wouldn't wake Jack up.

Rori showed him her book she was reading. "Mama billy tick. Wowi book, mama, bebe," she said while she pointed to her baby doll that was tucked under the blanket with her.

Riddick frowned. "I think your reading put your sick mommy to sleep," he told her.

She turned her head to look at her mommy. Jack's face was paler than it had been this morning and it was clear that she was sweating.

Standing back up, Riddick moved to Jack's side of the bed. He sat down near her waist and gently touched her cheek. "She's burning up," he said quietly to Rori.

Nodding her head, Rori sat up and put her hand where her daddy's hand had been. "Oh, hot!" she informed him while pulling her hand back.

After hearing Rori talking and feeling her move, Jack stirred. "Is the book done already, baby girl?" Jack asked.

"No, mama. Dada Wowi book," Rori told her mommy how her daddy interrupted the book.

Riddick placed his hand on Jack's stomach and smiled. "Rori says you're sick so she was reading you and her baby a book," he said. "I told her her reading put you to sleep."

Jack looked at him and gave him a small smile, "Yeah, I wasn't feeling too well so I convinced her to lay with me for a few minutes."

Leaning down, he kissed her forehead and shook his head, "Doesn't feel to me like you are feeling any better. You've got a fever and your scent is way off. Did you get sick earlier?"

Before Jack could answer, Rori nodded her head quickly and pointed to the bathroom. "Mama, tick der," she told him.

Sighing, Jack nodded too. "Yeah, I got sick in there," she closed her eyes. "I was a little sick to my stomach and dizzy this morning, but then Rori and I were hanging up the last of the wash and it just kind of hit me hard."

"Hope it's not contagious," Riddick said. He hated when Jack or the kids were sick. Thankfully it seemed that if Kayden and Rori did get sick, they didn't stay sick as long as Brent and Marcy's kids did; something to do with the Furyan genes, because Riddick hardly ever got sick and if he did he was better with in a day or so.

"How did it go with Mr. Camp?" Jack asked in a groggy voice.

Riddick took his hand off her stomach and put it between her and Rori. Leaning on it, he shrugged a little. "I think he saw what I was trying to do, but I'm not so sure if he's willing to change," he told her. "Guess you could say I didn't leave us on good terms. Told him if he kept up his crap I would accidentally send an email out to the Board members letting them know about what made him get all that time in lock up."

Jack frowned, "I just hope it doesn't come to that."

Nodding, he agreed with her. "Same here, but what happens next is up to him," he said while looking over at Rori who was using her hand to try and make her baby doll's hair neater. "You need anything? I'm thinking of changing Rori into some work clothes and taking her out to the barn with me until it's her nap time."

Rori's head snapped up and she smiled at her daddy. "Wowi, wok, dada?" she didn't even wait for an answer before moving to give Jack a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, bye, mama!" she said and crawled towards the end of the bed to slide off it.

Chuckling, Riddick kissed Jack's head and stood up. "Young lady, before we can go to work we have to make sure mommy has everything she needs," he told Rori as he scooped her up into his arms.

Jack smiled for a moment before she rolled onto her side again. "Maybe just a bottle of water, hun," she said.

Riddick put Rori over his shoulder and gently spanked her butt. "We will get you some water and some medicine for your fever," he mentioned while softly pinching Rori's pant clad legs, which made her squeal and laugh.

Holding up Rori's baby doll, Jack wiggled it again. "Rori, aren't you going to take your baby to work with you?"

When she was placed upright again in her daddy's arms, Rori looked at her mommy and shook her head. "Bebe, billy tick," she informed her mommy. "Bebe, tick der," she told her baby if she gets sick to get sick in the bathroom while she pointed her little finger towards the open door.

Jack pouted, "Your baby's belly is sick? So you want her to stay in bed with me until she feels better?"

Rori nodded, "Uh huh."

Gently, Riddick poked her belly. "It's not uh huh, it's yes," he told her with a smile.

The little girl's eyes were wide when her daddy poked her. "No do dat," she scolded him and covered her belly the best she could with her hands.

Riddick smirked, "Then say, yes." When she didn't say anything, he wiggled his finger like he was getting ready to poke her belly again. "Tell your mommy yes or I'm going to poke your belly again," he warned her.

A quiet giggle came from Rori as she captured his finger with both her hands. "Es, mama!" she giggled and tried to push his hand away from her belly.

Jack placed the baby back under the blanket and closed her eyes. "You two are too crazy for me today," she mumbled.

Taking that as a hint, Riddick carried Rori out of the bedroom and called Cole to follow.

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23:**

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><p>After getting a bottle of water for his wife, Riddick left Rori to play in her room for a few moments while he got the rest of the things for Jack. While he was doing that, Cole laid in the doorway of Rori's room so that she couldn't escape easily.<p>

"Jack," he said quietly while running a cool wash cloth over her face. "Gotta wake up for me long enough to take this medicine."

Moaning, Jack opened her eyes. "I really don't feel good, Riddick," she told him in a half groan.

Riddick frowned and nodded, "I know, but hopefully this stuff will help." He laid the wash cloth over her forehead and then reached to her night stand for the medicine.

Swallowing it, she made a face at the taste. "Why can't adult medicine come in flavors like the kid medicine does?" she asked while taking a small sip of water from the bottle Riddick handed her.

Grinning, Riddick put the top back on the water. "I have no idea. I brought in one of those wash basins you give the kids when they are sick. That way you don't have to try and make it to the bathroom if you feel like you're going to throw up," he said, showing her that it was on the bed next to her. "I'm going to take Rori outside to get some fresh air." He leaned down and kissed her hair. "We will be back inside in a little while to check on you."

Jack nodded and was already back to sleep by the time he stood up to go get Rori.

Stepping over Cole in order to get into Rori's room, Riddick smiled as he noticed the little princess was sitting on the floor next to her doll house and farm that Riddick had made for her. "Having fun?" he asked her.

Rori looked up at him and smiled. Pointing into the small house, she showed him how she had the small farm animals all lined up neatly in the kitchen of the doll house.

Smirking, he tilted his head. "What are the cows, ducks and pigs doing in the kitchen? Shouldn't they be out in the barn?" he asked.

"No, dada," she corrected him before pulling out the dolls from the barn stalls to show him that the people had to go into the barn.

"Oh, I see. You are being silly by letting the animals into the house and making the people stay in the barn," he chuckled when she giggled. "You want to play in here or go out to the big barn and help me work?"

Quickly, she put the people back and stood up. "Wok!" she said cheerfully.

Riddick smiled, "I thought you were going to say that. Let's get you changed into your outside play clothes." He didn't want her to get her brand new jeans dirty, so he figured he should put her into her old ones.

It took him about ten minutes to get her changed, because she always wanted to try to do it herself before finally letting someone help her. Just as he was snapping the second shoulder strap to the front of her bib overalls, Rori gasped and pointed out into the hallway. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Wowi, peepee," she informed him.

Riddick tilted his head, "Couldn't you have told me that you had to go potty before I got you into these?"

Rori smiled, shook her head and began to run out of the room towards the hallway bathroom.

Riddick sighed, picked up her shoes and followed after her.

Almost immediately after he got her situated on her potty chair, the phone started to ring. He looked from the hallway back to Rori. "Stay," he told her and took his fast long steps to the end of the hallway, down the stairs and to the living room phone. On the third ring he picked it up. "Hello?"

On the other end was a somewhat familiar voice. "Mr. Richards, this is the secretary at Kayden's school," she said.

Sighing, Riddick took the cordless phone back upstairs with him. "Please tell me there wasn't another fight," he stated seriously since the last time she had called them was when Kayden had gotten into the fight with Bruce and Matt.

She tried to hide a laugh. "No, Mr. Richards. I'm calling because Kayden was sent to the office. He isn't feeling well, the nurse took his temp and he has a high fever. He's also complaining that his stomach is upset"

He sighed again, "His mom is sick in bed today too. Bet they both have the same thing." He looked back into the bathroom and smiled seeing Rori still sitting on her potty chair while she looked at a tractor catalog that belonged to him. "I'll be there in like fifteen minutes to pick him up."

"He will be here in the office waiting for you," she told him before they both hung up.

Riddick put the phone on the bathroom counter and leaned against it as he ran his hands over his face. "Rori, does your belly feel sick?" he asked, hoping she wasn't getting sick too.

Closing the catalog and trying to put it back up onto the counter without getting off her chair, Rori shook her head as she answered him, "No, Wowi billy no tick."

"Well, if your belly starts to feel sick you let daddy know so I can try to make it feel better," he told her.

After he helped her get cleaned up and get her clothes back on, he sat her on the counter and put her shoes on. "Dada billy tick?" she asked him in her sweet little voice as she sat still while he tied her shoes.

He shook his head, "No my belly doesn't feel sick. But Kayden's belly is sick like mommy's so we have to go get him from school." Once her shoes were on, he stood her up on the floor. "Come on, we need to let mommy know we are going to get Kayden."

As they started down the hallway, Rori got distracted by the fact that her shoes lit up. Riddick chuckled as she stopped to watch them light up as she stomped her feet. He continued down the hallway; he found Jack sound asleep with Cole sleeping on the bed near her feet. He watched the blanket rise and fall with her breathing a few times before he turned and headed back to Rori. "Mommy's sleeping, I'm sure we will be back before she wakes up," he told his little girl before picking her up.

* * *

><p>True to Riddick's word, it was about fifteen minutes later when Rori insisted on trying to open the heavy door as they entered the school. When she couldn't do it Riddick helped her, but he was given a very dirty look for protest. Once inside Rori's finger went to her lip and she made a shushing sound, just like her mommy did to her every time they entered the building.<p>

Riddick shook his head at how much she looked just like Jack. "Okay, Jack Junior, we have to go this way," he whispered. Entering the office, Riddick spotted Kayden sitting in a chair off to the side. He had the garbage can on the floor between his legs and was thanking the secretary as she gave him a juice box.

"Hi, Den," Rori greeted him happily as she went over to him. She seen the apple on the side of the juice box and looked up at the secretary. "Dat epple zeus?" she asked softly.

The secretary looked at the juice box before answering her. "It is apple juice. I thought maybe a little juice might make Kayden's tummy feel better," she said to Rori. "Do you like apple juice?"

Rori nodded, making her messy curls bounce a little.

"Would you like your own apple juice to drink?" She smiled when Rori nodded again.

"What's the magic word, Aurora?" Riddick asked and was happy to hear his little girl's response.

"Wowi, ease epple zeus," Rori stated.

Laughing quietly, the secretary held out her hand. "Come with me and we will get one out of the fridge."

Rori took her hand and walked beside her into the other room. Riddick looked at Kayden and frowned seeing how sick he looked. "She said you've got a fever?" he asked as he sat down next to his son and raised his hand to feel Kayden's forehead.

Kayden nodded slowly, "My stomach and my head hurt too." He frowned as he handed the juice box to Riddick just before he proceeded to get sick in the trash can again.

Groaning, Riddick grabbed the box of tissues from the small table next to him. He rubbed Kayden's back and waited until Kayden was done before offering him the tissues to wipe his mouth off with. "You're mom is sick in bed too. Looks like you two will be camping out together today."

When the secretary and Rori came back, Rori was using both hands to hold her juice box that she was drinking from. "Did you say thank you?" Riddick asked her.

Rori nodded, but continued to drink.

The secretary smiled, "She's adorable and I see she takes after her big brother when it comes to being so smart and polite!"

Riddick smiled, "Thank you, you can thank their mom for passing off her smart genes to them." He chuckled. "Do you know if this sickness is just something going around or should I be worried about it?"

The secretary moved back to her desk. "It's something that is going around. We have had lots of students and teachers absent this last week or so. Thankfully it only seems to last three to five days."

It was Kayden's turn to groan. "Three to five days? But that means I'll miss the test tomorrow," he looked miserable.

Before Riddick could say anything, the secretary nodded. "Your teacher will let you make it up as soon as you come back. I promise you that, Kayden."

"And just think this will give you at least one more day to study," Riddick told Kayden, but it didn't seem to help Kayden's mood any.

The secretary gave Kayden a plastic bag in case he felt the need to get sick on the truck ride home. Rori insisted on helping her daddy carry Kayden's back pack as they left the building.

When they finally made it to the truck, Kayden locked the side door and leaned against it. "During silent reading time, it was my turn to use one of the bean bags and Mrs. Wolfe had to wake me up because I fell asleep," he mentioned to his dad.

Riddick frowned, "Did you feel sick before you fell asleep?" He pulled out of the parking lot and began to drive them home.

Kayden closed his eyes. "I felt a little warm, but that was it. When Mrs. Wolfe woke me up that's when my stomach felt queasy and my head was hurting."

From the back seat, Rori interjected in a higher pitched voice then normal, "Mama dit tick. Wowi teep mama bid." Her words came across as though she was frustrated with what had happened.

In the rear view mirror, Riddick could see the dirty look Rori had on her face as she told them how Jack had gotten sick and then tried to get Rori to go to sleep with her in the bed. He chuckled, "Mommy tried to make you take a nap in her bed? That's just horrible."

Rori nodded in agreement. "Wowi, 'no, mama!' Mama book," she informed her daddy.

He smirked; he loved how she talked and was grateful that he could actually understand her. "So you told mommy no and mommy got you a book to read?"

"Es," she said.

Smirking, he nodded, "That silly mommy." Riddick didn't even need to look over at his son to know that he was asleep. The soft snores that were coming from that side of the truck told Riddick he was.

When they got back to the house, Riddick told Kayden to get into his pajamas. While he was doing that, Riddick got Rori to once again play in her room while he found a second wash basin, a bottle of water and the bottle of kid's fever reducer. He walked into the bedroom to find Jack awake, but still laying down.

"Kayden's sick too?" she asked, having heard Riddick and Kayden talking.

Riddick nodded, "Yup, he has a fever and is throwing up. I told him he can camp out in here with you." He set the stuff down on his night stand and took his pillow from the bed. "Since Rori isn't feeling sick, I think I'm going to let Kayden sleep in here tonight and I'll crash on Rori's floor. That way if your three need something, I'll be able to help."

Jack frowned, "But I hate sleeping without you at night."

"I know, baby, but if we are both sick, who's going to take care of our fully energized and so far healthy daughter?" he asked. "Unless you want her in here bouncing on the bed and giving you more dirty looks for making her lay down and read a book," he chuckled. The look on Jack's face told him that she definitely had gotten a dirty look from Rori earlier. "Don't worry, she told me all about it. Even told me how she told you no when you wanted her to take a nap," he smiled and winked.

Kayden walked into their room at that moment. Not only was he in his warm pajamas like his dad had told him to change into, but he had his pillow and was dragging his warm blanket from his bed with him. When Kayden noticed his dad look at his blanket, he shrugged. "Your room is always cold, so I brought an extra blanket just in case," he told his dad. When he climbed into bed he immediately scooted over so he could cuddle with his mom.

Riddick spread Kayden's blanket over them both and got the medicine ready for Kayden to take. "I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told your mom. I've got water here for you to drink and a wash basin if you feel like getting sick. With both of you sick. I think Rori and I will stick close to the house, so if you need anything just holler," he said and raised the spoon up to Kayden's mouth.

* * *

><p>Over in Rori's room, Cole was laying on Rori's toddler bed watching as his little owner disappeared from sight. Jumping off the bed, he went to the bedroom door that Rori had closed and began to scratch at it. He quickly backed away and sat down when his dominant owner came to the door.<p>

Riddick slowly opened the door and looked inside. "What's up, boy?" he asked Cole before looking around the room. "Rori?" he called, but didn't get a response.

Cole barked once as he returned to his warm spot on Rori's bed.

"Aurora Richards, it's finally time to go to work," Riddick said, thinking it would get her to come out from her hiding spot. When that didn't get her to come out, he inhaled a deep breath and turned his attention to the closed closet door that had been standing open earlier. "Ah, hide and seek time instead."

Walking slowly to the closet, Riddick smiled. As a toddler, Kayden thought it was wonderful when his daddy couldn't find him right away; Rori was the same way. "Cole, where's Rori?" he questioned.

"Toe no no, dada!" Rori's quiet muffled voice came from within the closet.

He gasped dramatically, "Cole don't know? Wait, who said that?"

Hearing his name said twice made Cole wag his tail. It made a loud thumping noise against the unmade bed.

"Well, I give up. I have no idea where Rori is," he said as he reached for the closet door knob. "Guess I have to pack all of her clothes to give them to another little princess." Slowly he opened the door and looked inside; the closet was very close to being pitch black.

Scanning the area inside the closet, Riddick didn't see Rori. Placing his goggles on his forehead, he smiled, seeing a little sock covered foot sticking out from under one of the extra blankets they kept in there. "Oooooh, Rori! Do you want to go to work with your daddy today?" he asked very quietly.

"Es," was Rori's whispered response.

Smirking, he bent down and pulled the blanket off her. As soon as the blanket slipped from her head he saw the sight before him and his mind flashed back to when he had uncovered a young Jack on T-2. He pictured Jack in her broken goggles and shocked expression at being found.

Soon Rori's shocked look turned into a smile while her little hands adjusted her heart shaped sunglasses on her face. "Hi," she told him.

"Hi," he said with a chuckle. "If you are done hiding we can go to work now."

Rori nodded, "Wowi wok."

Standing back up, Riddick held his hand out to her. "Come on," he told her.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24:**

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><p><em><strong>This chapter is rated <span>MA<span> for adult situations. If you are not 18 or do not care for sexual acts of Riddick goodness, then please skip this chapter and come back for chapter 25.**_

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><p>A little over an hour later, Riddick was bent over the side of the washing machine with his back to Rori. "How you doing with the cleaning, baby girl?" he asked over his shoulder as he worked on tightening the hot water attachment that Jack had said was leaking.<p>

Rori looked up from sitting inside her mommy's laundry basket. "Ood," she told him with a smile. One hand had an apple slice in it, while the other hand had a cleaning rag for wiping down the inside of the basket.

He smirked before looking back behind the washer. "Keep up the good work so that mommy won't have anything to clean when she feels better," he told her.

The only response he received was the crunch of her biting into the apple slice.

When he managed to get the part tight, he stood up straight, banging his head on the wooden shelves that were above the washer. "Son of a..." he trailed off so that he wouldn't swear in front of Rori. Riddick brought his hand up to rub the back of his head; when he did that, his elbow knocked his pliers off the washer and down behind it. "Shit," he said in what he thought was a very quiet voice.

From her spot in the basket, Rori watched her daddy. "Dada otay?" she asked with a pout; this was the question that had been asked of her every time she got hurt from the time she was just learning to crawl.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he said with a sigh. When she didn't scold him for swearing, Riddick was grateful not to have been heard. _Maybe she didn't hear me, _he thought as he managed to get his tool. Turning to look at his little girl, he smiled. "If the basket is all clean, we have a kitchen sink that needs to have the drain trap cleaned out," he told her.

Rori shoved the last of her apple slice into her mouth and held her hands up for her daddy to get her out.

He decided not to make her say please since her mouth was full. Instead he picked her up, kissed her head as he stood her on the floor and handed her the small bowl that still had a couple apple slices left. Riddick latched his tool box closed and followed her out to the kitchen. "You going to help me clean the trap?" he asked her while setting the tool box on the floor next to the kitchen sink.

"Es," she said while putting her bowl on the chair, because even though she was tall for her age, she still couldn't fully reach the top of the tall kitchen table.

Opening the cupboard doors that gave him access to the sink pipes, he found the large wrench that he would need. He turned around so that his back was to the open cupboard. "In order to get to the pipes, it's easier to lay down like this," he explained to Rori as she watched him with a curious look on her pretty face.

She continued to watch him for a few moments before she opened another cupboard door. Once that was open to her liking she moved over to the tool box and found a screwdriver for each hand. "Wowi wok, dada," she told him happily.

Riddick lifted his head, "Okay, but be very careful with those. Those can give you bad owies."

Sitting down on the edge of the cupboard she had opened, Rori scooted inside of it backwards; shutting the doors once inside, she sat in the dark. Using the screwdrives to poke at the wood at the back of the cupboard, she started to sing her ABC's in a quiet whisper. After a little while of working quietly she laid both screwdrivers down, opened one of the doors and frowned as the tools rolled out of the cupboard. "Sit," she swore, because they hadn't stayed where she wanted them to.

Quickly sitting up, Riddick tilted his head as he looked at her. But before he could even think of what to say to her about her possible first swear word, Rori began to crawl out after the screw drivers.

When she climbed out of the cupboard after the tools was when she saw her daddy looking at her. "No day dat," she told him with a serious expression.

Riddick pointed to himself in disbelief that not only had she in fact swore, but was scolding him for it. "Me? How about you don't say that," he stated.

She sat on her knees just looking at him. "Wowi, no day dat?" she questioned with a shake of her head. When her daddy nodded at her, she nodded too. "Mama, un ettes."

Smirking, he nodded. "Your mommy is going to make me give her a whole lot more than one credit when she finds out you swore," he said with a sigh. "Probably something like five hundred credits every day for a month."

"Who's giving who that many credits?" Jack asked as she stepped off the last stair into the living room.

Both Riddick and Rori looked up at her. "Sit! Wowi, no day dat," she tattled on herself.

Jack sighed and put her hands on her hips. She still wasn't feeling any better, but her and Kayden both agreed they needed something in their stomachs for nourishment. "You don't say what?" she asked, her brain hadn't registered what Rori had just said.

Rori continued to look up at her mommy. "Sit," she repeated.

Turning his head away from them quickly, Riddick didn't want Rori to see the grin on his face. He shouldn't think that was funny, but he thought it was cute the way she didn't pronounce an 's' if it started a word, but she sure could say 'shit' good enough.

Jack was the opposite of her husband. Instead of smiling, Jack cocked her head to the side and shook her head. "You said a naughty word, young lady?" she asked and watched Rori nod. "That is a very naughty word. We don't say those words because they are bad words. Did daddy say that word today?" Again Rori nodded her head, so Jack looked at Riddick. "Richard B. Riddick..."

He snapped his head back to look at her, "Yes, my loving wife and wonderful mother of my children?"

"I mean it, if I hear you swear one more time in front of our children you are not going to like what I do to you," she said before grabbing onto the chair for support as she felt herself get dizzy.

Riddick was on his feet in a flash to catch her if she started to fall. "Why are you out of bed?" he asked while taking Rori's bowl off the chair so that Jack could sit down.

Licking her dry lips, Jack pointed towards the snack food cupboard. "Kayden and I want to try eating some crackers or something. Oh and we need something other than water to drink," she told him. When Riddick moved away from her to get the crackers, she continued, "And don't think you and I are done talking about the swearing, Riddick."

Behind her he nodded his head, "I know, we have the talk at least twice a month." He grinned, but quickly stopped when he saw her serious face. "As I told Rori, I'm going to be putting tons of credits into the jar for the next month."

Jack looked at Rori, "You don't say the naughty words that daddy says. You don't have a job yet, so you don't have any credits to put in the naughty word jar."

Since she was already on her knees, Rori crawled the short distance to her mommy. When she reached her, Rori stood up to hug her. "Wowi, no day dat," she said.

Riddick came back to the table and put down two different kinds of crackers. "Think some Sprite will be alright?" he asked while already getting two glasses.

Using one hand to rub Rori's back, Jack nodded, "Yeah." She looked into the bowl that he had put on the table. "Did you have an apple for a snack?" she asked her.

Nodding her head, Rori tried to stand on her tip toes to see up onto the table. "Pay Wowi, mama?" she changed the subject.

Jack pouted, "I would love to play with you, sweetheart, but mommy needs to go lay back down."

Rori pouted too, "No, mama." She shook her head, "Pay Wowi."

Riddick put the two glasses of pop next to the crackers. "I thought we were going to play together, Rori?"

Shaking her head again, Rori laid her head on Jack's lap. "No, mama!" she said sadly.

With a sigh, Jack ran her fingers through Rori's hair. "I know you want to play with me, but I'm still sick. Maybe after you eat lunch and take your nap daddy will bring you up to watch a movie with me and Kayden," Jack knew it was going to be a long day for Rori. She was so used to being with Jack almost all day every day that it might be difficult for the little girl not to see her mommy as much as she wanted.

"Rori," Riddick said. "How about I carry the pop up the stairs, you carry the crackers and hold mommy's hand? Mommy needs lots of help getting up the steps."

Jack smiled, "That's right. I need my big girl to show me how to go up the stairs. Can you do that for me?"

Picking her head up from her mommy's lap, Rori looked at her parents for a moment. With a smile, she held out her hand for the bag of crackers; once she had them in her hand she slipped her other hand into Jack's and tried to help pull her off the chair.

* * *

><p>Two hours later Riddick leaned his back against the living room wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "Rori, I know you want your mommy, but mommy and Kayden are sleeping," he told her for the third time as she continued to try and convince him to take her upstairs.<p>

Being overly tired made the fifteen month old very irritable. "No," she almost yelled at him. Holding onto the railing of the stairs, Rori put one foot on the bottom step. "Wowi mama," she informed him.

Riddick growled playfully at her; he had been trying to get her attention away from the stairs for almost twenty minutes, but with the determination she got from both parents that wasn't happening.

She didn't care about what he was saying or the sounds he was making. "Mama," she demanded again as she put her other foot on the step too.

Unfolding his arms, Riddick narrowed his eyes at her. "Aurora J. Richards! If you go up those stairs I'm going to give you a time out," he told her; finally getting serious with her.

Hearing him say that, she put her feet back on the floor one by one, let go of the railing and crumbled to a ball on the floor. "Mama," she cried out as the real tears started to fall while she stretched out so she could kick her feet.

Pushing away from the wall, he walked over to her and shook his head. "You've had lunch, you've gone potty and now it's time for you to take a very long princess size nap," he told her as he bent over and picked her up. When he had her in his arms she began to push and kick against him as she continued to cry. "Aurora, I promise when you wake up you can see your mommy. Maybe Kayden will feel well enough to color with you," he whispered into her ear as he hugged her tight.

Finally, she gave up fighting and relaxed against him. Even though she stopped trying to get away, she was still sniffling through tears, "Mama."

Riddick grabbed her baby doll and her soft blanket from the couch and headed to the back porch. When he reached his destination, he sat down on the porch swing that was hung from the ceiling rafters. Carefully he wrapped her and her baby up in the blanket before he started to swing them gently. "Want daddy to tell you a story?"

With a big yawn, Rori nodded.

He smiled down at her. "Okay. Let's see," he said as he started to think. He had never been good at creating stories, that was Jack's area of expertise, so he would normally tell a true story; something that he or Jack had done. "Once upon a time there was a little boy named Kayden," he said.

Rori gasped quietly, "Den?"

Riddick nodded. "That's right, his name was Kayden; just like your brother's name. Now this little boy was very smart, loved to run and climb as much as he could. He kept his mommy and daddy on their toes at all times. Kayden didn't have any brothers or sisters, which at first was okay with his mommy and daddy," he kept talking as he made the swing move back and forth. As he looked down at Rori he could tell she was struggling to stay awake. "But as Kayden turned five years old they decided that Kayden needed to have someone else to play with. So the mommy and daddy said that if another baby came then it would be a wonderful thing and they would be so happy."

Shifting a little, Rori did her best to snuggle in closer to Riddick's body as she listened.

"One day the daddy came home from working very far away and the mommy told him she had a baby in her belly," he smiled at the memory.

"Bebe billy?" she mumbled.

He nodded. "Yup, the mommy had a baby in her belly. A couple months later the mommy told the daddy that the baby wasn't in her belly anymore," he frowned again as he pictured how sad and distraught Jack had been when she told him that she had miscarried. "So as the mommy cried and cried and cried, the daddy told her that maybe there was a good reason why the baby couldn't grow to see us." Riddick kept swinging and talking, because every time he stopped doing either, Rori's eyes would flutter open.

"No bebe," she repeated in a mumble while keeping her eyes closed.

"No baby is right; the mommy decided that maybe it wasn't the right time for them to have another baby. So Kayden was going to be an only child for a long time to come. A couple years later the daddy convinced the mommy to leave Kayden with their friends, Brent and Marcy. When Kayden was over there, the mommy and daddy took a very long trip to a beautiful cabin. At that cabin they celebrated their anniversary."

Rori took in a deep breath, but kept her eyes shut. Very quietly it sounded as though she tried to repeat the big word that Riddick had said.

He smiled down at her, "As they were swimming next to a tall magical waterfall, the daddy mentioned how quiet it was in the house now that Kayden was in school all day. The mommy agreed and while they were swimming next to that waterfall, magic happened."

As he thought back to the day that they agreed it was time to really try again for a baby, Riddick could picture the smile on Jack's face. He didn't worry about making the memory sound like a story anymore, "You should have seen the smile on your mom's face, Rori. It was her excited smile; the one that lit up her whole face, even her eyes. It's the smile that made my heart beat fast all those years ago and even today when she looks at me it makes my heart skip a few beats. So that weekend we swam and did what we needed to do to hopefully create a special little baby." He was grinning now. _We sure did make love like two horny teenagers that weekend, _he thought with a quiet chuckle.

Riddick kept swinging as he focused on her breathing which was getting steadier. He stopped talking and soon walked back into the house. Gently, he laid a now sleeping Rori on the couch and covered her with the quilt they kept nearby. Riddick quietly watched his little girl sleep for a minute. The house was now silent as he walked into the kitchen, grabbed a drink from the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table. Opening the can of pop, Riddick stared across the room and let his mind wander back to the magic that happened the weekend him and Jack created their daughter.

_Placing one hand on her cheek, Riddick rubbed his thumb against her skin. "I only want to really try again for a baby if you are ready, Jack," he said as they both stood in chest deep water. He knew how much losing the other pregnancy affected Jack; it was a good two months before she wanted __to have sex again and another three months before she let him stop using condoms, even though she was on birth control shots again._

_Jack nodded but showed no other signs of wanting this too. "I'd give anything at this point to have another one of you growing in me," she said quietly. "But I've been off the birth control for over six months now and we haven't gotten pregnant yet. What if this does actually work and I lose this pregnancy too?" she looked up at him, with her arms still around his waist. "I don't think I could handle losing another baby."_

_Riddick removed his hand from her cheek and pulled her into his chest for a hug. "I know how hard it was for you, babe," he kissed the top of her head. "But we have to remember that two years ago when you lost the baby, the doctor said it was just something that happened. Do you remember what the doctor told you when you decided you wanted to go off the shot?" he questioned and watched her nod. "So we both knew that you going off birth control didn't mean we were going to create another little one right away. The only way we will know if you can carry another little one is if we pull out all the stops and try everything we can think of."_

_Nodding again, Jack sighed. "I do want to really try for another baby," she paused and licked her lips. "But if we are able to make another baby, we can't tell anyone about it until I start showing. That way if something happens like the last time, then I won't be getting those pathetic looks from people." When he nodded his agreement to the condition, she flashed him a small smile. "I don't think you know how much I want another baby with you, Riddick," her voice was a little happier this time._

_He reached his hand through the water and pulled her back closer to him. "And I'd give anything to make that happen for you," he paused to kiss her lips. "For us," he whispered against her mouth._

_Wrapping her arms around his neck, Jack began to kiss him. Another smile formed on her lips when she felt his hands on her ass and him lifting her up. Jack's legs instinctively went around his waist. "Do you think us having sex in the water will work like it did when we conceived Kayden?" she questioned when she started to feel his mouth against her neck and shoulder._

_Stopping what he was doing, Riddick leaned his head up so he could see her fully. "I purposely brought you here for our anniversary for us to see if it would work again. After all, the only time we had sex in this water was the weekend we created him," he grinned. "So if you are ready and willing then there is only one way to find out if it'll work."_

_Biting her lip for a moment, Jack nodded. "I figured that's why you brought me here, so I guess it can't hurt to see what happens," she whispered, bringing her mouth to his once again._

_The kiss became more heated, almost urgent. As his hands kneaded her butt as he held her up, he smelled her arousal when it grew stronger._

_Slowly, Riddick took his lips from hers and turned to walk them closer to shore. "Your arousal is seriously my favorite scent," he told her as their lips parted._

_Jack leaned her forehead against his and smiled. Their breath mingled together as he continued to walk to shallower water. "I'm glad it's your favorite, means I don't have to spend money on expensive perfume," she giggled._

_He chuckled with her. When he reached ankle deep water, he carefully sank to his knees, laying her __down in front of him. "Never cover your scent up, Jack," he said._

_"Does it make you sad when I do?" she teased while running her hands over his bare chest and keeping her legs wrapped around his waist._

_Growling at her, he leaned down to nip at her shoulder. "Makes us both very depressed," he said, pressing his semi-hard erection against her covered vagina._

_She moaned, but said nothing. Running her nails down his chest and stomach, Jack cupped his package through his shorts. "Seems my scent isn't doing its job today, guess I'm going to have to help you two out," her hand was already massaging him while she spoke._

_Licking his lips, Riddick pressed his hips forward again, wanting to feel her slender fingers work him through the fabric. "You're so beautiful," he mumbled while starting to trail kisses down her throat and to her barely covered chest._

_Moving her hand back up, she did her best to slip it into his shorts. "For someone that wants to see if we can make a baby this weekend, you sure are doing a lot of talking and not a lot of getting the job done," she giggled quietly when she felt his cock twitch in her hand._

_Riddick brought a hand around behind him to unlock her ankles; sitting back on his knees he smiled at her, "You sure are bossy. What happened to the sweet and innocent woman I fell in love with?" He winked as reached to untie the strings which held her bikini bottom on._

_Jack sat up just enough to reach behind her and pull on the strings that were tied behind her back. Tossing the bathing suit top up onto the shore, she smiled back. "I believe she was kidnapped by some strong sexy man," she said, watching him push down his shorts and discard them near her bikini._

_Repositioning himself between her legs, Riddick kissed her lips. Slowly he ran one hand up her thigh, past her pelvis and straight to her breast. "And when she was returned she was a sex fiend," the word fiend was punctuated by a pinch to her nipple. When Jack arched her back and moaned loudly, he grinned, "Told ya!"_

_"Just fuck me already, Riddick," she demanded as she moved one leg up to wrap around his hip._

_As he reached between them to line his cock up with her entrance, Jack pulled his head down. The kiss her mouth begged him for told him just how ready she actually was. He felt her folds spread for and enveloped him as he pushed his cock into her. The moan she made was cut off by their kiss, but he knew she would be begging him to make her feel good if his mouth wasn't in the way._

_Finally, once he was fully inside her, they broke the kiss to breathe. Riddick cupped her ass with one hand to help keep her leg around his waist. Small water waves were sent in every direction as Riddick began to move his hips. His goggled eyes focused down on his wife, who had her eyes closed and her lower lip drawn in between her teeth._

_Riddick leaned down to press his mouth against her ear. "Told you you were beautiful," he whispered, never stopping his thrusts as he started to graze his teeth against her neck and shoulder._

_Jack wrapped her arms around his back and ran her nails down it. She had found that whenever __she did that to him, his teeth seemed to become stronger and almost sharper; something that really turned them both on._

_A groan and harder thrusts were her reward as the teeth on her shoulder made their way down to her bouncing breasts. "Please, Riddick," she begged, not even entirely sure what she wanted, but knew Riddick would give her something._

_His mouth latched onto an erect nipple, his tongue swirling around the peak. As he rubbed his teeth against the warm nipple a warm breeze blew across their exposed bodies. His nose picked up on the influx of arousal that was radiating off his lover. Taking his mouth from her breast, Riddick braced himself with both hands on the sandy bottom as he began to work her pussy faster. "You're close, Jack! I can smell it. Cum for me, baby," he told her._

_It was as if he knew her body better than she knew it; because as he said those words the butterflies began to flutter in her lower stomach. As the feeling grew stronger so did Riddick's movements. Opening her eyes for only the second time in the last few minutes, she could see the way his jaw tightened as he held himself back until she was satisfied. Jack imagined that if he didn't have his goggles on at that moment, his eyes would seem so much darker than normal._

_That thought was all it took to push her over the edge. The sound of the rushing waterfall became distant and Riddick's panting grew louder in her ears. "Oh god, Riddick," she managed to shout as her climax took over and clamped down around his cock._

_When her walls quivered around him, he knew he had once again pleasured his wife to her liking. He threw his head back and groaned loudly as his hot semen shot into her time and time again. His hips slowed their actions, but kept pushing back inside as he rode out his own orgasm. "Fuck yeah," he said when he fully stopped and dropped his head down to lay against her wet shoulder._

_"I love you, Riddick," Jack whispered, slowly running her fingertips up and down his back._

_"Love you, too," he said, laying a soft kiss against her lips before pulling completely out. He looked back down at her face and grinned seeing the large smile shinning back at him._

_"Next I want to do it behind the waterfall," she informed him as she eyed the falling water._

Hearing Kayden call for him from upstairs, brought Riddick out of his thoughts. With a smile on his face he stood and headed for his bedroom.

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><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25:**

The next morning at close to eleven, Kayden was feeling somewhat better. He hadn't thrown up since before he went to sleep and so far he was holding down the light breakfast his dad had made for him.

Standing in his parents bathroom in only his socks and pajama pants, Kayden turned on the small radio that was kept on the counter. He turned the volume down, but still looked into the bedroom to make sure it wasn't loud enough to bother his still sleeping mom. Once he noticed she hadn't even moved in the bed, he started to brush his teeth. As he pushed his tooth brush back and forth against his front teeth, Kayden's eyes wandered around the small room.

On the wall shelf above the toilet he eyed the different bottles and jars. With the tooth brush hanging from his mouth, he shut the toilet lid and climbed onto it. When he found his dad's deodorant he moved his head to see if his mom was still sleeping before taking the top off it.

Bringing it to his nose, Kayden smelled the scent. _That smells manly, _he thought as he turned the small knob at the bottom of the container. Lifting one arm at a time, he rubbed the clear gel against each arm pit.

After he was done applying the deodorant, he put it back, got off the toilet and finished brushing his teeth. As he was rinsing his mouth he heard movement from the bedroom. Before he could turn his head to see what his mom was doing, he heard the foot steps as she ran across the floor and directly towards the bathroom.

Kayden shifted so he wasn't in the way as she moved past him, lifted the toilet lid and began to get sick.

Frowning, Kayden watched her for a moment before he grabbed one of the hair ties that was laying on the counter. He walked the few steps to his mom and did his best to gather all her long hair into one of his hands. "I'll keep your hair out of your way, mom," he told her as he slowly put her hair into a very messy ponytail.

Jack leaned her head against her arm and panted. "Thank you, Kayden," she whispered before getting sick some more.

He let go of her pony tail that he had been holding out of her way. "I'll get you some water to rinse your mouth out," he said while stepping towards the sink. As he turned the faucet on he glanced back to his mom and pictured her when she had a large pregnant belly.

_"Mom, why do you throw up so much?" Kayden asked as he took the black hair tie out of his pocket and started to pull her hair back into a pony tail._

_Jack wiped her mouth with the kitchen towel she had had in her hand as she made her way to the bathroom. "It's just something that happens when you're pregnant," she informed him before she started to get sick once again in the toilet._

_When Jack and Riddick first told him he was going to get a baby brother or sister, he had watched his mom have morning sickness. When his dad was not away working, Kayden would see his dad use a hair tie to bring his mom's hair out of her way. As the weeks went by the morning sickness turned into an all day sickness. Several times when Kayden and Jack were by themselves he __couldn't find a hair tie to put her hair back; that's when he started keeping hair ties in his pocket._

_"But why are you getting sick even when I ask for something specific to eat?" he questioned, not understanding why asking for a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner would make someone throw up._

_When the last of the nausea seemed to past, Jack slowly stood up. "When a woman is pregnant sometimes her sense of smell becomes stronger. For some reason when I think of certain foods I can almost smell what it's going to smell like when it's cooking and it just makes me very sick to my stomach," she moved over to the bathroom sink to get a glass of water to rinse her mouth._

_Kayden did what he always did after she got sick; he flushed the toilet and sprayed the vanilla scented air freshener towards it. "According to dad you only got sick with me for about three months. The calendar says this baby is due in forty three days. That's a long time to be getting sick with a baby, isn't it?" They had marked the_ _due date on the calendar and he had been keeping track of how many days were left._

_Spitting out the last of the water, Jack turned to her son and smiled, "It's a very long time to be getting sick every day, but there's not much I can do about it. As long as the baby is still healthy and growing then I'm fine with throwing up even at the mention of food."_

_With a shrug, Kayden walked out of the bathroom. "Maybe when the next baby is in your stomach you won't get sick at all. Third time's a charm, right?" he said with a smile._

_Jack giggled and gave him a side ways hug, "That's right."_

Shutting the water off, Kayden turned back to his mom who was now sitting on the edge of the tub. "I haven't seen you throw up this much since you had Rori in your stomach," he told her as he handed her the glass of water.

Jack smiled and took the water. "I think you're right. I was hoping I would be feeling better today," she told him. "How are you feeling?" She took some water into her mouth and swished it around.

"I feel like I've ran a marathon, because I feel kind of tired. But I'm not sick to my stomach anymore," he said with a smile.

Nodding, Jack finished up with the water. "I'm happy to hear that. Did you eat breakfast yet?"

Kayden raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Mom, it's almost lunch time," he informed her since she had been sleeping all morning. "But to answer your question, yes I did eat breakfast. I wanted some eggs with Rori, but dad said I should maybe let my stomach settle for another day before I get back to eating lots of food. So he made me toast with apricot jam instead."

Taking a clean towel off the shelf, she used one end to wipe her mouth off before using the other end to wipe the toothpaste from around Kayden's mouth. "Glad to hear you are feeling better. Where is your dad and sister anyway?" she asked. Taking his hand, she shut the radio off and led him back to bed.

He climbed up onto the bed and grabbed the TV remote. "Dad was dropping Rori over with Marcy so that him and Brent could load the ship. Brent has a shipment to get out very early in the morning," he turned on the television and began flipping through the channels trying to find some cartoons. "Did you know that if I were at school right now, I would be in Library?" he asked while putting one arm behind his head.

Laying on her side facing him, she smiled. "I didn't know that. What book do you think you would be looking for?"

"Today we were to do some research for our weather reports. I picked to learn about hurricanes. Want to know why?" he asked as he looked at her with a grin.

Jack nodded.

Grinning even bigger, Kayden laughed, "I want to compare the damage a real hurricane can do against what damage Hurricane Aurora can do!"

That made Jack laugh too. "Do you have a hypothesis as to which can do more damage?"

"Yup. I think that Hurricane Aurora can do a lot more destruction, because she just looks at a room and the room becomes trashed," he laughed again.

* * *

><p>A short time later, Jack and Kayden headed downstairs. Kayden was hungry again and Jack decided maybe she should try eating some toast.<p>

While Jack sat down to sip on some cold water, Kayden stuck two pieces of bread into the toaster for his mom. "They should be done in about a minute," he told her. Turning from the counter, he walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. "Since I kept down the toast and I'm not feeling sick to my stomach, can I have a sandwich?" he asked, but quickly added, "I'll only put ham and butter on it."

She sat her glass on the table and nodded, "You can, but if you start feeling sick after it you are back to crackers and toast for the rest of the day."

Smiling, Kayden took out what he wanted and shut the door. "Thank you," he said as he put everything on the table. When he put the ham down the phone started to ring. "I'll get it for you, mom."

When he went to get the phone, Jack carefully stood to take her toast out of the toaster. In the background she could hear Kayden answer.

"Hello?" he said and followed it with a short pause. "Marcy? What's wrong?" he asked and listened again, before taking the phone away from his ear and turning to face his mom. "Mom, Marcy's crying and says it's very important she talks to you."

Hurrying over to him, she thought something had happened to Rori or that Marcy was in labor early. "Marcy? What happened?" she asked and sat down in the chair near the phone.

Kayden stood by her and could hear everything that Marcy was saying on the other end. "It's Rori. She's been asking for you all morning. I told her we would come over and see you, but I had to use the bathroom first," she said as she tried to calm her crying down.

"Okay. Just calm down and breathe, Marcy. Is she throwing a tantrum?" Jack asked, knowing that Rori had started throwing tantrums in the last few weeks when she was tired and not getting her way.

"No. She's gone, Jack. I'm so sorry, I looked all over the house and Greg told me she went out the front door. I don't know where she's at," Marcy said again and began to cry harder.

Jack almost dropped the phone as she stood up. "What do you mean, she's gone?" Jack just about screamed into the phone.

Kayden was already at the front door putting his shoes on as soon as he heard that his sister was missing. Even though he was in a hurry to get ready to go to Marcy's, he was still listening to the phone conversation. He grabbed his pullover sweatshirt and was putting that on when Jack told Marcy they would be right over.

"Aurora ran away from Marcy's. We've got to go look for her," Jack was trying not to cry as she moved towards the front door to put her shoes on.

As Kayden watched her fight to get her shoes on her bare feet, he could see how badly her hands were shaking. "It's okay, mom!" he reassured her, reaching for her sweater. "We'll find her, mom. Probably before dad and Brent get here," he told her, because he had heard Marcy say she was going to call the ship yard to have the guys come back. Opening the front door, he looked down at Cole, who's tail was wagging. "Rori's hiding, go find her!"

Cole tilted his head as he heard the command, but didn't waste any time as he hurried out the door.

Following him outside, Jack and Kayden went down the front steps. "Should we split up, mom?" Kayden asked. In one of his survival books he got for his birthday, he remembered that when someone gets separated from the group the rest should stick together so more people don't get lost; but this situation was different, they both knew the area real well.

"That's a good idea, we can cover more ground," she told him. "I'm going to head down our driveway and down the road towards Marcy's."

Kayden was already heading in the direction that Cole had gone. "I'll take the woods, we'll meet at Marcy's," he called over his shoulder as he began to run towards the back of the house, yelling out Rori's name.

Reaching the edge of the woods, Kayden took a moment to look at the back porch and play area. "Rori?" he asked, but didn't hear or see her.

Cole was sniffing around the sand box. When it seemed as though he couldn't find her in that area his ears went up and he looked into the wooded area next to him.

"Let's find Rori," Kayden said before he stepped from the grass into the woods; Cole was already ahead of him. "Rori," he called out again. "Where are you?"

As they walked through the woods, Kayden did his best to breathe in deep through his nose; trying to pick up on Rori's scent like his dad did when they were hiding or hunting. He frowned when all he smelled was pine sap and wet wood. "Rori!" he listened for a response as he kept looking and walking. "Rori, if you say my name I'll give you a blueberry popsicle," he yelled out his bribe, hoping her favorite flavor would get her to say something to him.

He continued zig zagging through the woods, thinking he would be able to see more area if he moved around. "I wish dad was here, Cole," he said quietly when he finally stood still to listen. Besides the rustle of the leaves in the wind, the only thing he heard was Marcy and Greg yelling for his sister too.

Back near the house, Jack held a hand against her stomach as she ran down the driveway and yelled for her daughter. "Rori! Where are you sweetheart?" she called out, already feeling the tidal wave of nausea flooding her stomach and throat. "Answer me, Rori!"

Stopping in the middle of the driveway, she tried to listen for any sounds. All she could hear was Kayden calling out for his sister and off in the distance, Marcy's voice echoing through the woods.

As soon as the nausea seemed to be at bay for a moment, Jack started to walk quickly, still calling out for Rori to say something, anything.

She made it to the road without hearing or seeing any trace of Rori. Jack kept walking quickly, scanning the road and surrounding woods. _Might be easier if I knew what Riddick dressed her in this morning, _she thought, suddenly feeling very guilty for being sick. "Rori, please talk to mommy!" she called out, hoping she was close enough to the little girl that she would hear Jack and she would yell back to her. "Baby girl, tell mommy where you are so we can play."

Jack continued to walk at a fast pace as she headed towards Marcy's driveway. Looking ahead of her, she spotted something small and pink laying in the road. Running the few yards to it, she quickly figured out what it was. "Oh no," Jack said as she bent over to pick it up.

Laying there face down on the damp gravel was Rori's baby doll that was dressed in the dark pink outfit that she had helped Rori put on the baby the night before. Looking around at the road, Jack could see what looked like fresh tire tracks not too far from where she had found the doll.

"Rori," she screamed loudly. "Aurora J, answer mommy," Jack was spinning in circles as she tried to look in every direction around her.

The fear of the fresh tire tracks, combined with the fact that Rori hardly went anywhere without her baby, caused a sick feeling like she had never experienced before to wash through her entire body. It was so intense that she dropped down to her knees and threw up into the wet grass at the edge of the road.

When she managed to stop getting sick, Jack screamed Rori's name as loud as she could, making crows in Riddick's nearby fields fly off in fright.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks to those who left feedback, added my story to your favorites or to your alerts! Means the world to me. A Huge thank you goes out to my wonderful and lovely beta: Evilgrin. Without her I'm not sure what I would do. Any mistakes found int he posted chapters are mine!<br>**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26:**

* * *

><p>Driving down the road that he knew would lead him past Robert Richards' house, Mr. Camp planned to go down the road without stopping. He had no real reason why he had gone out there, after all, Mr. Richards' house was nowhere near where he had originally been heading.<p>

As he came closer to the land that belonged to Jack and Riddick, Mr. Camp saw something come out of the shallow ditch and onto the road. Getting closer still, he focused in on the now visible child in a pink sweater and brown pants.

He slowed down until he was past the Richards' driveway, where he came to a complete stop. About twenty feet in front of his truck the little girl had stopped also. She stood there looking at the truck while she held a doll by its arm at her side.

Getting out of his truck, Mr. Camp walked around to the front of it and looked around for an adult. "What are you going out here, Aurora?" he asked, since it wasn't every day he came across a child wandering down the road alone.

Continuing to stare up at him, she finally pointed in the direction she had been heading with her free hand. "Wowi tee mama!" she told him proudly and started to walk towards him.

"Where is your mom?" he asked and looked around again to see if maybe this was some kind of trick.

This time when Rori stopped walking she was standing within feet of him, but she didn't say anything.

When she didn't do or say anything, he motioned to his truck. "How about I take you to see your mom," he suggested. "Come on, let's put you in my truck and we will go see your mom."

To his surprise she shook her head, pointed in the direction she was going again and started to walk down the road. "Wowi tee mama, no oo," she told him, not wanting him to see her mommy too. She might be young, but her memory was very good and she remembered how upset her mom had got the last time this man had showed up.

With a sigh, Mr. Camp walked behind her and picked her up so that her back was against his chest. "No, Aurora, we need to get you out of the road and some place safe," he said and jerked his head backwards just as she threw her hand holding her baby doll back, striking him in the face with it.

"No mama!" she screamed while starting to fight him to get down.

He caught her hand when she went to hit him again, "Shush, I'm taking you to see her. Eventually," he added quietly. Walking around to the driver's door, Mr. Camp opened the door and leaned in to put her on the seat. What he hadn't realized was that she had dropped her baby when she was struggling with him.

Buckling her in was a chore in itself. Not only did she have a strong kick and slap, but her teeth seemed sharp as well. "Stop biting me, that's naughty, Aurora," he told her as he finally got her buckled in and looked at the marks on his arm.

Rori screamed at him and began to cry loudly.

Instead of turning around in the next driveway, Mr. Camp drove further down the road. "It's not good for children to be left unattended outside. And it's definitely not good when they wander out into the road alone," he told her as he turned on the road that would take him into town.

The more he talked to her, the louder she screamed for her mama and dada. The whole time she was throwing her verbal fit, she was doing her best to get out of the buckle; even if that meant standing up in the car, which she knew was bad.

When he noticed that she had gotten her legs under her and she was trying to stand up, Mr. Camp placed his arm in front of her to hold her.

Suddenly, Rori's cries were muffled as she bit down on the back of his upper arm as hard as she could. When he yelled out in pain, Rori started to scream and cry even louder.

"You little shit," he said while pulling his truck into the parking lot of the sheriff's department.

It just so happened that at the moment Mr. Camp drove into the parking lot, the sheriff was coming outside for a smoke break. The screaming and crying caught his attention before the truck was even shut off. "What is going on?" he asked when Mr. Camp opened his door.

Getting out of the truck, Mr. Camp rubbed at his arm; he looked at his hand to see if there was any blood, but he didn't see any. "I found this little girl wandering down the road by herself. I picked her up to bring her here and she bit me several times," he informed the other man.

Stepping over to the truck, the sheriff looked inside and spotted Rori sobbing quietly. "She looks downright terrified, Matt," he said. "Isn't that Mr. and Mrs. Richard's little girl?" he asked, now seeing the deep silver eyes looking back at him; the same ones that were normally accompanied by a big smile whenever he saw her in the store or at the school.

Clearing his throat, Mr. Camp shrugged. "I have no idea who she belongs to," he lied.

The sheriff turned back to face him. "Where did you say you found her?" he asked.

Mr. Camp scratched his head, pretending to be thinking. "It was over on Zurther Road," he finally admitted. "But again, I have no clue who she belongs to or why in the hell they would leave her unattended on the road like that."

Looking back into the truck, the sheriff smiled sweetly at the frightened and sweaty little girl. "Are you thirsty?" he asked her quietly while reaching in to unbuckle her.

"Watch it, she's got lots of teeth and she knows how to use them," Mr. Camp warned his long time acquaintance.

Smiling, he shook his head. "Oh, such a pretty little lady wouldn't bite me. Would you?" he asked her.

"Wowi, mama!" she replied to him as he picked her up and she hiccuped through another small sob.

As the sheriff turned away from the truck, he nodded, "I bet you do want your mommy. And I'm betting she wants you too." He started to carry her into the building. "How about we get you a drink and a tissue for your runny nose while we try calling her?"

Rori nodded her head as she glared daggers at Mr. Camp over the sheriff's shoulder.

Mr. Camp shut his truck door and followed them inside.

* * *

><p>Back over at Marcy's house, Riddick's truck sped into the driveway. The truck was barely in park before both men jumped out.<p>

"Did you find her?" Brent asked.

Jack, who was still panicking, threw him a dirty look. "Do you see her here with us?" she asked in an angry tone as she held the baby doll to her chest.

Riddick moved over to her and cupped her face, "He's just trying to help, Jack. Where have you three looked?" Even though he was very worried about their daughter, he knew he needed to keep calm.

"She had to have been on the road going home," Jack told him as her shaky hands held up the dirty doll for him to see. "It was on the road," her voice cracked as more tears started to fall. "She wouldn't have left her baby alone."

Kayden came over to them and looked up at his dad. "We found fresh tire tracks near her baby, dad. Do you think someone picked her up?"

Looking down at his son, he could see the dried tear marks on his young face. "Maybe," he said, not wanting to actually think about someone taking her. "Marcy, you okay enough to call sheriff Chester while Brent and I take another look around the woods?"

Marcy, who was sitting on the porch steps holding Greg nodded. "Yes, I can do that," she told him; her voice was horse from her crying as well.

"Dad, can I go too?" Kayden asked, hoping he could help again.

Riddick kissed Jack's head before looking back at Kayden. "I need you to take care of your mom for me, son. She needs you right now, okay? Can you do that for me?" Riddick asked.

Nodding, Kayden took his mom's hand, "I can do that, dad."

Giving him a big smile, Riddick turned and headed quickly down the drive way with Brent.

"Mom, let's sit down," he told her, since she was looking worse as the seconds ticked by.

* * *

><p>Over at Riddick and Jack's house the phone started to ring. After a few rings Jack's voice answered: "Thanks for calling R&amp;J Farms, we're very sorry that we couldn't take your call at this time. If you would please leave your name and a call back number we will be sure to get back with you as soon as we are available. Have a nice day!"<p>

A beep was heard through out the quiet house before another voice started: "Mr. and Mrs. Richards, this is sheriff Chester from town. I seem to have been brought something that I think you might want back. When you get this please give me a call back or even come to the station. Thanks."

Sitting on the edge of his desk, Rori picked up another potato chip from the sheriff's lunch and took a bite from it. She wasn't worried about the crumbs she was getting on her shirt or the desk; she was just enjoying whatever he was giving her.

"Seems they aren't answering," the sheriff said to Mr. Camp as he hung up.

Shaking his head, Mr. Camp sighed, "Leaving a young child home alone when they go out. That's neglect if I've ever seen it. "

Rori gave the sheriff back his sandwich after she took a big bite from it, which made him smirk. "We can't go about saying it's neglect when we don't know everything. Maybe they are working out on their farm and she happened to wander away? Or they are very sick and she left the house to get help."

Nodding her head, Rori talked through the mouthful she still had, "Mama billy tick."

The sheriff wasn't used to the way she said her words so he just nodded in agreement, even though he didn't actually understand her. "For all we know they are out there right now looking for her," he said when he looked back at the other man.

Mr. Camp sat up much straighter in his chair. "I was there, I didn't hear anyone calling for her and I damn well didn't see anyone either," he said.

Gasping, Rori pointed her whole hand at him and gave him the serious look her mommy gave her daddy. "No day dat," she scolded him loudly, not liking that he swore.

Chuckling, sheriff Chester understood that time. He offered her another drink from the large cup he found in the kitchen area. "I think I'll take a drive out to their place to see what's going on," he told him.

Standing up, Mr. Camp looked at Rori, "If you want, I'll keep her until you figure things out."

Rori seen him reaching for her, she quickly dropped the chip she had and threw herself at the nice man that was feeding her. "No mama!" she yelled, not wanting to go to Mr. Camp again; she just wanted her mommy.

Sheriff Chester looked at him and shook his head. "I don't think she likes you, Matt," he said and took her onto his lap. "I'll just take her with me." His hand rubbed her back as she clung to his uniform shirt and stared back at Mr. Camp.

Mr. Camp scowled back at her.

Almost twenty minutes later sheriff Chester turned onto Zurther Road. In the back seat of his patrol car, Rori was counting for him. When she would make it to ten and stop, he would tell her what came next, only to be told 'no' and she would start over at one.

Up ahead he could see two guys standing on either side of the road. "You stay in your seat belt while I get out for a minute," he told her as he stopped the car a few yards from the men. He smiled as he heard her tell him okay.

He rolled down his window before he stepped out of the car. "Mr. Richards, right?" he asked as he walked towards the man he had only met in passing.

Riddick nodded as he also walked towards the sheriff, "I'm not sure how much my neighbor, Marcy, told you, but we still can't find my daughter."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Richards, but I didn't talk to..." he stopped in mid sentence when a loud squeal followed by crying came from the patrol car.

Rori had wiggled out of her seat belt and was standing on the back seat looking at her daddy. When she laid eyes on him, she started to cry, wanting him to take her.

"Rori!" Riddick yelled and brushed past the sheriff while running towards the car. As soon as he got the back door open he reached in, picked her up and hugged her as tight as he could without hurting her.

Brent rubbed a hand through his hair, he was relieved that they finally had her back. Turning, he cupped his mouth and yelled in the direction of his house. "Jack, Marcy! We got her!"

For still being sick, Jack made it from Marcy's front porch, down the driveway and to the road in record time. Cole and Kayden were right behind her. As soon as she saw that Rori was in Riddick's arms, Jack headed straight for them. "Is she hurt?" she asked Riddick as she reached to take her daughter from him.

"Hi, mama!" Rori said while hugging her mommy's neck extra tight. She still had a few tears coming down her face, but nothing compared to when she had seen her daddy.

Jack continued to hug her, "You had me so worried, Aurora. You have no idea how scared you made mommy."

The sheriff looked at Jack. "I did a quick check of her at the department and she seems to be fine. No injuries that she complained about either," he told them.

"Where exactly did you find her?" Riddick asked. "She can move fast, but I know she didn't make it into town in that short amount of time."

With a nod, sheriff Chester went on to explain. "Almost an hour ago I had a fella bring her to me. He said he found her walking down this road," he smiled as he watched Rori use her hands to try and wipe the tears from Jack's face. "He wasn't sure who she was or where she belonged and I guess he wanted to make sure she was alright."

Marcy and Greg finally made it to the road. Greg was holding his mommy's hand while she waddled slowly.

Riddick, who was standing next to Jack and Rori, looked at his daughter and touched her shoulder. "You know where you live, why didn't you show him where your house was?" he asked her.

Rori went from smiling to a serious face. She put her arm to her mouth and bit down on it before pointing her finger at her daddy. "Wowi, no no no!" she said loudly, repeating what Mr. Camp had told her.

Looking at the sheriff, Jack spoke, "She bit him? Who's the man that found her?"

"His name is Matt Camp, he owns Camp's Wood Mill," he told her and then frowned at seeing the agitated look wash over her face. "Something wrong, Mrs. Richards?"

Jack looked from him to Riddick. "He touched our daughter," she stated sternly. Looking back at the sheriff, she tried to stay calm, but the happiness of having Rori back was now turning into anger over who had taken her. "Mr. Camp told you he didn't know who she was or where she lived?"

The sheriff nodded and before he was able to say anything, Jack started talking again.

"That's a lie. He was at our house not too long ago and he saw her with me. For God sake we are the only family in this town that has children with shined eyes," she said, getting angrier by the minute. "Everyone knows who Aurora and Kayden are and they know who Robbie and I are as well."

"Jack, you gotta calm down," Riddick said and placed his hand on her back.

Jack snapped her head in his direction and moved away from his touch. "Don't tell me to calm down, Robbie. First he talks trash about our son when his son was the one being the bully. Then he subjects our employee to an interrogation, just because he's a jerk and wants to spread lies about you," her voice was raised, something that didn't happen much when it was directed towards Riddick. "Now he takes our daughter and lies about what he does and doesn't know. I bet he'll try to get neglect charges brought against us." Turning towards the sheriff again, she lowered her voice, but kept it serious. "I thank you very much for returning our little girl to us and I assure you that Marcy and I aren't bad mothers who neglect any of our children. It was an accident that won't happen again. Now if you will excuse me I have to go check my daughter over thoroughly to make sure he in fact didn't harm her." She did want to check her over, but Jack just really needed to get away from everyone for a moment to compose herself.

When Jack started to leave, Cole looked to Riddick and Kayden before trotting to catch up with her.

Sheriff Chester stood there dumbfounded about the speech he just heard. He watched as Rori clung to Jack as she walked past him and to the driveway leading to the house. When they had disappeared from view, he finally broke the silence. "I wasn't going to blame anyone for neglecting the little girl, even though I was informed it probably was neglect," he told all the adults. "My goal for coming out here was to return her and make sure everything and everyone was alright." His eyes moved over to observe Marcy still rubbing her very pregnant stomach; he hadn't even realized that Mr. and Mrs. Overly lived out there.

"We are all fine, but as you heard my wife say we have been having a few issues with Mr. Camp the last couple of weeks," Riddick informed him. "After I talked to him about him confronting Brent, I thought the problems between us were over," he sighed. "Guess it's not."

Taking a small note pad and pen from his front shirt pocket, the sheriff opened it to a fresh page and jotted something down.

"Because of all the stuff that Mr. Camp has been doing, my wife doesn't really like him," Riddick added.

Kayden's voice piped in from next to his dad, "Neither does Rori if she bit him." He giggled and shrugged when Riddick looked at him. Behind Kayden both Marcy and Brent were trying not to laugh.

The sheriff smirked while looking at Kayden. "I see she is definitely a tough cookie when someone makes her do something she doesn't want to," he motioned to the side of his face. "Apparently she used her doll as a weapon and clobbered Matt in the head with it when he picked her up. She kicked him, hit him and even bit him when he was trying to get her buckled in."

Riddick couldn't stop himself from grinning at what he was just told. Rori was just like her mom: a fighter who didn't like people messing with her. "Can you really blame her?" he asked.

Shaking his head, Sheriff Chester needed to do his job. "As much as I know it was an accident with your daughter wandering off, I do need to write a report about what happened. Does she wander off a lot?" he asked Riddick.

He crossed his arms over his chest to take his normal stance. "No. It's been a hard couple of days for her. She's used to being with her mom almost all day, every day. Unfortunately, my wife and son both came down with a bug, so Rori has been hanging with me in hopes she will stay healthy." He glanced back at Marcy and smiled at her, "I had to load my ship up for a shipment that is going out later and I left Rori with Marcy."

The sheriff looked at Marcy, "So she was with you when she wandered off?"

Marcy nodded and cleared her throat. "Yes. I had involved her in making some chicken noodle soup for her mom and brother this morning. I thought that if she was keeping busy it would take her mind off missing Jack so much. But the whole time she kept saying she wanted to see her mom. When the soup was done I told her we could go see her mom, but I needed to use the bathroom first. I sat her and my son in the living room to watch a cartoon and when I came out of the bathroom, not even two minutes later, Rori was gone and I couldn't find her." She frowned at that part; she had been so terrified that not only was Rori gone, but she thought Jack and Robbie were going to hate her for not taking better care of their child. As she talked more, she began to cry, "I looked all over the house and that's when Greg told me she went outside." She looked at Riddick, "Last time she was over she couldn't get the screen door open, so I thought it would be the same this time. I'm sorry, Robbie," she told him and was pulled into a hug by Brent.

Riddick shook his head, "It's not your fault, Marcy. If anything it's my fault for leaving her with you when I knew how upset she was about wanting Jack. I shouldn't have given my responsibility to you." He looked back to the sheriff. "Is there any way we can talk more later? I really need to check on my girls."

Nodding, the man motioned towards the direction Jack had went. "Yes of course. I'll finish up with your neighbors and I'll stop by before I head back to town," he told him.

Both Riddick and Kayden made their way to the house.

After he watched his friend leave, Brent spoke to the sheriff. "I don't know why Mr. Camp was out this way this morning, but I think he took Rori on purpose," he said and then raised his hand to stop the other guy from talking. "I will say I'm glad it was him and not some jerk that would have snatched Rori up and hurt her, but Mr. Camp knew darn well who she was and where she belonged," his tone was stern; he was really starting to hate Matt Camp.

Marcy nodded beside him, "I think he didn't want to take her home in hopes he could stir up trouble for Jack and Robbie."

The sheriff nodded in agreement and glanced over his shoulder at the Richards' house.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27:**

* * *

><p>After getting into the house, Kayden went to the kitchen to finish making his sandwich while Riddick headed upstairs to check on Aurora and Jack. When he reached the top of the stairs he could smell soap, which meant Rori had takena bath. Continuing down the hallway,he could smell the lingering scent of stopped at his bedroom door and leaned against the frame as he watched and listened to the scene in front of him.<p>

Laying nestled in the warm blankets, Rori hugged her now clean baby doll to her. Her eyes were closed, but Riddick knew she wasn't sleeping by the way her small fingers slowly patted her baby's stomach.

"The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not me. It's been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My mom says some days are like that," Jack read quietly from one of Rori's favorite books.

When Rori didn't make her normal meowing noises like a cat, Riddick knew she was almost fully asleep. His eyes glanced from her face to her hand, which was now laying still.

Jack turned her head slowly to look at Riddick. "Even in Australia," she whispered, finishing the book.

Riddick gave her a small smirk and watched while Jack slowly got off the bed, tucked Rori in better and walked over to Riddick. "I see she's wearing my shirt," he said, pulling Jack in for a hug.

Nodding her head, Jack buried her face into his chest. "First she wanted to put some pajamas on like I was wearing, but as we dug through the clothes basket, she spotted your shirt and insisted on wearing it," her voice was muffled by Riddick's shirt.

He ran his hands over her back while staring at his daughter's little arms. He knew from past experiences of Rori wearing his shirt, that she was swimming in it and the short sleeves were rolled up. Riddick leaned his cheek against the top of Jack's head. "Did she have any marks on her?" he finally asked.

Jack hugged him a little harder, "No, thank God. I checked her over thoroughly when I gave her a quick bath."

Riddick leaned his chin against the top of her head. "Glad you gave her a bath, I didn't like his scent on her," he whispered.

Finally, she looked up at him. "What are we going to do, Riddick?" she asked; her eyes were filled with as much worry as her voice.

With a sigh, he shook his head, "Can't kill him, because we would probably be the first ones the sheriff questioned."

"We aren't killing anyone ever again, remember?" she questioned, knowing they had made a pact after what had happened with Connor Ford.

He smirked at her, "That was the second reason why we can't kill him." Riddick thought for a moment while he looked at Jack's face, she looked so tired. "I'm not sure I like the sheriff getting involved."**  
><strong>**  
><strong>Jack nodded in agreement as she spoke, "What if that's the only way to get him to leave us alone?" She laid her head on his chest again.

Riddick looked back into the bedroom as he saw Rori roll over. "If that's what it takes then I guess we need to do it," he was back to whispering so they didn't disturb their daughter any more.

Downstairs, Kayden's quiet voice was heard.

"That better not be Mr. Camp, because if it is, Riddick, I swear I will do bodily harm to him," Jack said, her anger flaring up again.

Taking her hand, they walked to the top of the steps. Kayden was already half way up them, "Dad, Sheriff Chester is waiting for you."

Riddick nodded. "Inside the house or outside?" he asked, testing to see if Kayden remembered the rule.

Kayden turned to walk back down to the living room. "Outside of course; I know I'm not supposed to let anyone but Brent and Marcy into the house. No point in getting myself in trouble when I'm already stuck in the house for being sick," he told him.

Jack made her usual small snorting noise as she tried to stop herself from laughing. Riddick on the other hand smiled at Kayden, "Smart move."

"Did you expect less of me, dad? After all I am your genius," he informed his dad.

Once they were all in the living room, Jack cupped Kayden's face gently. "Please listen for your sister, if she wakes up, come get me," when he nodded she kissed his forehead. "That's my sweet genius!"

Holding the door open for her, Riddick let Jack walk out to the front porch first.

Sheriff Chester was standing against the railing, looking toward the fruit fields. "You have a very nice piece of land here," he remarked while turning his attention to Mr. and Mrs. Richards.

Riddick nodded, "Thanks. Took us a very long time to get it the way we wanted."

Jack sat on a railing near by and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Your neighbors think that Mr. Camp purposely took your daughter when he found her; possibly to cause problems for you. I know you told me he knew where your daughter belonged, so do you think he did it just to try and cause problems?" Sheriff Chester asked, not wanting to take up much more of their time today.

Riddick stood next to Jack and nodded. "He seems to have a fascination with me and my son. His son was bullying my kid and his two friends, but somewhere along the line in Mr. Camp's head he turned it around so that my son is the bully," Riddick glanced into the house through the window. He watched as Kayden came down the stairs with a school text book in his hands. "He informed us that our son is a monster because of his shined eyes. Even went so far as to think that my wife and I purposely did that to his eyes when he was born." He looked back to the sheriff.**  
><strong>**  
><strong>Looking up at the sheriff too, Jack added in her thoughts. "He threw a tantrum at the school in front of the principal when we had a meeting about the bullying and fight that occurred because of it. His wife then made him come over to apologize to us and when my husband refused to accept his apology, Mr. Camp took it upon himself to make up lies about us having criminal backgrounds. Can you believe that?" she asked the sheriff. "He even questioned Brent about Robbie."

"Mr. Overly? What does your neighbor have to do with this?" the sheriff asked as his eyes moved from Jack to Riddick.

Riddick sighed, "Brent has been my employee for many years now. I was off world on a delivery and Brent went to the saw mill to fill a wood order for me. From what I was told, Mr. Camp wouldn't fill the order until after he asked lots of questions about me."

Sheriff Chester jotted down some notes, "Did Mr. Overly tell you what kind of questions Mr. Camp was asking?"

Raising an eyebrow above his goggles, Riddick nodded, "The kind with answers that Mr. Camp doesn't need to know."

His tone was normal to the average person, but Jack knew the slight difference. Since he was standing next to where she was sitting, she gently touched his leg with the back of her hand. "I guess he couldn't find information on where my husband and I lived prior to moving here. He found that extremely odd, but we have never owned anything besides what we have here," she gestured around with both hands. "So of course it's going to be hard to track where we were before."

The sheriff nodded his head, "Last time I knew it wasn't breaking any laws by not having your life plastered on the internet."

"Exactly," Riddick said glancing down to Jack for a moment. "We've lived here for a very long time," he told the sheriff when he finally looked back to him. "Only trouble we ever had was back when we first started growing our fruit. The young boys that lived down the road took it upon themselves to climb over our fencing and pick apples and oranges. A few signs took care of that," he said. "But I don't think a few signs will take care of Mr. Camp."

Jack quickly jumped in, not sure where Riddick was going with what he was saying. "Any way you can talk to Mr. Camp and ask him to nicely just leave us and our kids alone? We would really appreciate that if you could. I'm sure my husband will agree that we don't want any trouble."

Nodding, Sheriff Chester closed his note book. "I'll be sure to have a conversation with Matt Camp. One thing I don't want in my area is people not getting along." He took a business card out of his pocket and handed it to Riddick. "That has the department number and my home number on it, any trouble with Mr. Camp after today I want you to call and let me know."

Riddick nodded back at him and stuck his hand out to the other man. "Thank you, we'll be sure to call you."

After shaking hands with Riddick, the sheriff nodded his head in Jack's direction before going down the porch steps and back to his patrol car.

As soon as the sheriff's car disappeared down the driveway, Jack looked at Riddick. "Do you think Mr. Camp will really stop just because Sheriff Chester has a talk with him?"

Riddick sat down next to her and shook his head, "He's a very stubborn man that's not getting his way."

Jack sighed, "Let's hope he's not like you when it comes to wanting to get your way."

Looking at her, he shook his head. "You know as well as I do, that he's probably going to do everything he can in order to get whatever the hell it is he wants out of this," he told her.

She looked back at him, "I know, but I like to think positive."

Riddick smirked, "That's one reason I love you." He leaned over and kissed her head. "Still feeling sick?" he asked when he noticed her fever was gone.

"My head hurts, but that's probably from all the crying, running and yelling I did today while looking for Rori," she said.

He pulled her into a hug and closed his eyes as he rested his head against her hair. "I'm going to ask Brent if he can take the shipment in the morning instead of me doing it," he mentioned.

Jack continued to hug him as she questioned his motive for the change, "Why?"

"I really don't want to leave you and the kids alone right now. You aren't in full health and I don't want to take a chance of Camp seeing me leave and him taking advantage of that," he told her seriously.

She pulled away so she could see his face. "I can understand that, but I think Brent needs to be home with Marcy in case she goes into labor early," she said and glanced through the window when she spotted movement inside. "That and you have the meeting set up to potentially get three more customers on the planet you are going to."

Riddick nodded and sat up straight, "I just have a really bad feeling about leaving you three home alone for a couple of days."

"Brent is not that far away, so if I need anything I know he will come right over," she was trying to make Riddick feel more at ease, but she knew that would be difficult when she didn't even feel that way.

Knowing his wife, he knew she wasn't going to back down from her stand point. "Fine. If you go anywhere you let Marcy and Brent know when you leave and when you get back and keep Cole in the house with you so he can alert you to things."

Jack smiled even though he had one of his serious faces on. "I promise I will be extra careful. Maybe this will be a good time to teach Rori how to use a shiv," she told him.

Riddick growled at her, "I'm serious, Jack." His voice was deep and the tone told her she better get serious about the conversation.

Nodding, she leaned sideways to lean against him. "Sorry, but if I start looking over my shoulder every time I do something or go somewhere the kids will notice. We both know how clingy and cranky our daughter gets when she senses something is different with us. So as I said, baby, I promise I'll be careful."

Both of them looked to the front door as Kayden opened it and stepped onto the porch. "When you guys are done talking, I need help," he told them while holding his notebook in his hands.

Jack held her hands out to him so he would come closer, "What do you need help with, hun?"

Kayden stood between them and pointed to the math equations that he had worked through. "I need you to check over my math home work," he said.

Tilting his head, Riddick looked at the note book. "I thought we went over your home work last night before bed?" he asked his son; Kayden had felt somewhat better before bed so as Jack helped Rori dress her baby doll, Riddick had helped Kayden with some of his school work that had been sent home with him.

Looking up at his dad, Kayden nodded. "My home work from the teacher was to do the odd number math problems only, I assigned myself the even problems for extra practice," Kayden said with a smile.

Jack giggled, "I bet you are the only kid that assigns himself extra work when he could be playing games or watching TV."

Kayden shook his head, "Holly and Davey do it too, mom. That's how we stay so smart," he grinned at her.

Chuckling, Riddick stood up. "Come on, let's go inside and I'll look over your extra home work while your mom takes a nap with your sister," he said.

* * *

><p>Jack put an excited Rori into the truck and began to help her get into her car seat so they could head over to Springers.<p>

Riddick had been gone for a day and a half and was due back tomorrow morning. There hadn't been a sign of Mr. Camp since the incident with the sheriff; something that Jack was grateful for.

"Mom," Kayden said as he put his seat belt on in the front seat.

"Yes?" she asked, turning around from helping Rori.

He watched her buckle herself in and turn the truck on. "Did you call Brent to tell him where we were going and when we might be back?" he questioned.

Nodding, Jack began to drive the truck down the driveway towards the road. "Yes, I did," she smiled, knowing that Riddick had put Kayden up to making sure they were extra careful while he was gone. "I even told him where we would be eating and what stores I thought we would be shopping."

Kayden smiled back at her, "Good. We don't want to go against Dad's orders."

Jack laughed and shook her head. "Your dad didn't give us orders. He simply gave us stern ideas of what we should do while he is gone," she told him before she turned onto the road and began driving them towards their destination.

He shrugged, "Orders or stern ideas, what's the difference?"

From the back seat Rori giggled, "No no, Den!"

Kayden turned around and looked back at her. "You don't know?" he asked and laughed when she giggled again. "Well, you aren't much help today."

A while later, Jack parked the truck in front of Stewert's Deli. This family restaurant was a place that Riddick and Jack had been taking Kayden to since he was old enough to eat solid food. It seemed to be Rori's favorite place in Springers to eat, because she loved the mini hamburgers they made just for kids.

"After we get done eating, we need to go to the pharmacy," Jack told the kids as she got Rori out of her seat.

Kayden was standing on the sidewalk near the front of the truck. "We still get to go to the book store, right?" he asked, since it was his favorite place to shop when they were in town.

Taking Rori's hand, Jack nodded, "Of course we still get to go there. I just need to pick up a few things before we head home and I forget to buy them."

Jack and the kids walked into Stewert's Deli without even realizing they were being watched from a distance.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>** AN: The book Jack was reading to Rori is titled: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. I only borrowed some of the words to this fabulous book, no harm intended, no money made! :)<strong>


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER 28:**

* * *

><p>An hour later, Jack and the kids came out of the restaurant with full stomachs. Jack was carrying a take home box with the food that her and Rori hadn't finished. She had her other hand on Rori's shoulder as the little girl held onto her colored-on place mat with one hand and drank from the small cup with a lid and straw that she had in her other hand.<p>

"Kayden, let's just put our stuff in the truck and we can walk down to the pharmacy," Jack told him.

Nodding, he watched his mom unlock the driver's side door as he stood between Rori and the busy road like he had done many times before. "There's no use moving the truck when the pharmacy is only a few stores down that way and the book store is right across the road," he mentioned while as he pointed in the directions he was talking about.

Rori took the straw from her mouth and looked up at her brother. "Ahh," she said, as if the drink was very refreshing to her.

"You're just doing that because you got pop in there," he said back to her.

She nodded, "Ownge oo."

Kayden grinned, "Yup, orange pop like me!" He bent down and looked her in the eyes. "Are you a copy cat, Aurora J?"

Puckering up her lips, she leaned up and gave her brother a kiss, before nodding her head. "Wowa J top tat," she giggled.

He giggled with her since she had admitted she was, even though he knew she didn't know what a copy cat was, "Thought so."

Taking Rori's drawing and her drink, Jack put them in the front of the truck along with her own drink and Kayden's. "Now let's do a little shopping," she told them while re-locking the truck.

* * *

><p>In the pharmacy, Jack walked up and down the aisles trying to find the most important reason for their shopping trip. As she turned down one aisle, she looked behind her at the kids. "Rori, you stay right next to Kayden," she told her as both kids were slowly walking behind her.<p>

Kayden was pointing out colors and letters, asking Rori each time what it was. "What's that letter?" he asked.

Rori looked at the letter carefully. "'D', dada," she told him with a smile.

"That's right! That's 'D' for daddy," he offered his hand to her for a high five which she gladly gave him. "You are so smart for being so little!"

Jack smiled at them. "Let's keep moving so we can get to the book store faster, kids," she said while still trying to spot what she needed.**  
><strong>**  
><strong>When she finally found the right aisle, Jack glanced around on the shelves. She smiled when she spotted the area that her future purchase would be located. Jack's smile quickly faded as she noticed the tag for the item she wanted didn't have any of the items above it. "Darn it," she said quietly to herself.

"Why darn it, mom?" Kayden asked while standing perfectly still as Rori walked circles around him.

Jack frowned, "They don't have what I need."

Kayden frowned too. "What is it you need?" he asked, thinking maybe he could help her find whatever it was she was looking for.

Still glancing over the shelves of items, Jack vaguely explained what she was looking for, "Just something that adults sometimes need. No big deal, I guess." She turned fully and smiled at the kids, "Since they don't have it, we can head to the book store now."

Stopping in her tracks, Rori clapped her hands and cheered loudly, "Aaaayyyy!"

Kayden laughed, "Yay is right!"

Taking Rori's hand, Jack ledthem out of the small store. "Is there any other store you think you might want to check out while we are here, Kayden?" she questioned, knowing they didn't get to come to the big town often enough.

He walked a little faster so he was walking beside his mom. "Not that I can think of, but do you need to go to another store to find your adult item?" he asked as they neared the cross walk area that would take them across the road.

Jack thought about that for a moment while she picked up Rori so they could cross the street quickly. "No, I think I can do without it for a bit longer," she said and looked both ways for any traffic.

They got to the other side of the street and Jack stood Rori on her feet again; Kayden took one hand and Jack took the other. "How many books can we get today, mom?" he asked; willing to buy a ton of books if allowed.

"Aw dem," Rori answered cheerfully.

Both Jack and Kayden laughed. "First of all, your name isn't mom, it's Aurora and second of all, we can't buy all of the books. That would be too many credits," Jack said while still giggling. "Your dad would have a fit if we spent all the credits on just books." Opening the door to the book store, Jack spoke again, "How about we each pick out three things to start with and we will go from there?"

Kayden nodded and let go of Rori's hand. "I'm going to go ask if they have any books about hurricanes for my research paper," he grinned; they had been to the book store enough to know that the workers would look in the computer to see if they sold certain books and if they didn't have those books, they would order them for the customers.

The children's section was located near the front desk so Jack and Rori headed there first; this way Jack could keep an eye on Kayden without Rori getting impatient. "What kind of books do you want to look for, sweetheart?" she asked. Jack already knew she was going to get a few books for beginning readers, these would help Rori learn to read even though she was so young.

Letting go of her mommy's hand, Rori began to look at different book covers. Right away she spotted one that had a photograph of a cat. "Tit tat," she said and reached for the book.

Jack smiled, "Kitty cats are your favorite." She squatted down next to where Rori was standing so she could look at the book with her. They opened to the first page and Jack noticed there were more photographs of cats, but no words. "This book is special. It doesn't have any words so we get to make our own story up about what the kitty cats are doing."

Rori was smiling too as she pointed to a white cat that was sitting outside in a flower garden. "Tit tat mama iddies," she said, holding the book up for Jack to see.

"It does look like the kitty cat is sitting by my pretties," she remarked and kissed her daughter's head. "You are so smart."

After looking at another page with Rori, Jack stood back up and turned to see where Kayden was; he was still standing at the check out counter. The female worker was writing down what Jack assumed to be book titles for Kayden.

Glancing back to Rori, she smiled at seeing her walking with her cat book tucked under her arm like Kayden did. "If you see another one you might like, show it to me," she said before looking at the other shelves in the same area.

Rori didn't even bother to look back at her mommy, instead she continued to look with a quiet, "Otay."

A very short time later, Kayden came over with a piece of paper in his hand. "Mom, they have four books that are about nothing but hurricanes," he showed her the list. "I'm going to check out all four and see which one will give me the most information. That way I don't waste my three book selection on books about this topic."

Jack looked at the list and smiled. "That sounds like a good plan. I want you to stick right to that area, if you make your decision and decide to look at different books, let me know. Okay?" she wanted to make sure he remembered the rule.

He nodded at her, "I will come tell you when I'm moving on to the comic book section." With a smile on his face and the piece of paper in his hand, Kayden walked toward the back of the store.

Rori had put her first book on the floor and was looking at another one. "What did you find now?" Jack asked, moving over to her.

"Wowi book," she smiled, holding up a book titled Goodnight Moon.

Jack giggled, "That's right. You have that book at home already. How about we find a book that you don't have?"

Shaking her head, Rori hugged the book she had. "No, mama," she told her, wanting to keep the book. When Jack reached for the book, Rori turned her back to her mommy so that she couldn't get it.**  
><strong>**  
><strong>Jack frowned at her, "But, Rori, some other little boy or girl might want to buy that book so their mommy and daddy can read it to them. You already have that one, so we can go home and read your copy tonight."

Rori continued to pout and made no movement to give up the book.

With a sigh, Jack nodded. "Fine. You can read the book while Kayden and I look for the books we want, but then we have to leave the book here for another child to buy," she said.

Rori's pout turned into a big grin. She bent down to pick up her other book and followed Jack to the teaching section of the store.

Almost twenty minutes later, Jack had found five simple word books for Aurora and was now looking through the cooking section for a new cookbook.

On the floor next to her, Rori was reading from the book she had to put back later. "Owange," she said as she pointed to the green room in the book.

"Green," Jack corrected her without even taking her eyes from the cookbook page she was reading. "In the great green room there was a telephone and a," she stopped reciting the book from memory and glanced down at Rori.

Rori was smiling up at her. "Wed boon," she finished Jack's sentence. They had read this book so much that everyone in the house knew the words.

"That's right, a red balloon. And a picture of," she paused once more.

Giggling, the little girl turned the page. "Tow moan," she clapped her hands.

Jack nodded while going back to reading the chicken recipe she had found. "And a picture of the cow jumping over the moon. Good job! Read the next page," she told her quietly.

Instead of turning to the next page, Rori closed her book and announced what she needed to do, "Mama, Wowi peepee."

Smiling, Jack shut the cookbook she planned to buy, picked up the other books and held her hand out to Rori. "Let's go, big girl."

They stopped long enough to add their stack of books to the three books Kayden had by his feet in the comic book section.

"Kayden, I'm taking Rori to the bathroom. We'll be right back," Jack told him while starting to walk away. "Stay right there, please!"

He smiled and nodded. "Okay, mom," he said before waving back to Rori who was waving to him while walking away with Jack.

After Jack helped Rori use the potty, they washed their hands. As Jack handed her daughter some paper towel, she quickly placed one hand on the wall to keep herself steady as she suddenly became dizzy. Jack covered her mouth with her other hand, wanting the nauseous feeling the dizziness induced to go away.

Rori threw the used paper towel in the garbage. "Aw dawn," she told her mommy, holding up her hands to show that they were clean and dry.

Nodding, Jack leaned against the wall with her shoulder. "Hold on, sweetheart," she said as she tried to wish the urge to vomit away.

"Mama tick?" she asked and walked over to pick up her mommy's purse.

It had only been a couple days since she had actually felt better. So Jack thought the dizziness and nausea was her body's way of saying she had done too much today. "Yeah, I think it's time to go home and get into our pajamas," Jack stated when she felt normal again.

When she opened the bathroom door, Kayden was sitting in a chair with the large stack of books on his lap.

"I have a proposition for you mom," he said as soon as he seen them.

Smiling, Jack sat down in the chair next to him. "And what is that, son?" she asked with a tired sigh.

Kayden watched as Rori lifted Jack's purse up and put it on her mommy's lap; she then unzipped it and started to rummage through it, looking for what Kayden assumed was the mints that Jack kept in there. "If you let me count my educational hurricane book as an extra book and not part of my allowed three books, I promise to make you laugh all the way home with this handy dandy joke book!"

Jack clicked open the mint container that Rori had fished out of her purse. "Sounds like a deal to me," she said with a smile. "How about we get going home? I'm sure Cole would love to go outside soon and I don't know about you and your sister, but I'm tired."

He nodded in agreement, "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

><p>Kayden was already in the front seat buckled in as Jack was getting Rori situated in her car seat. "Mom? Is that a note?" he asked while looking at the windshield.<p>

Jack turned around and sat in the driver's seat. "Where?" she questioned, not sure what he was referring to.

Pointing to the windshield, a small piece of paper was tucked under the wiper blade, "That."

"I don't know what that is," she said as she opened her door and reached for it. When she got it inside and shut the door, she turned on the overhead light so she could read the fully capitalized words:

**SHAME ON YOU! LEAVING YOUR SON UNATTENDED IN THE BOOK STORE. DIDN'T YOU LEARN YOUR LESSON WITH YOUR DAUGHTER?**

******  
><strong>Jack's heart began to race.

"What does it say, mom?" Kayden asked her.

She shook her head, not wanting to scare him. "Nothing. It's just junk," she told him while already reaching for the automatic lock switch. "Let's go home." Jack folded up the paper and slipped it into her purse.

Kayden watched as she turned the light off and started the truck. "Should we call Brent?" he asked; he wasn't sure why, but he didn't like the sudden change in the air.

"It's still early enough to stop by their house when we get back into our town," she said with a smile as she backed out of the parking space.

The drive back to their town seemed to be doubled in time. As she drove she thought about the note. Jack knew who wrote it; after all there were only a few people who knew what happened a few days prior with Rori and only one person who would be dumb enough to leave a note on her truck about it.

Finally, Jack turned onto the gravel road that would take them the last ten miles to their house. As they entered the long stretch of road that Kayden referred to as 'scarecrow land,' Jack thought she saw something in her rear view mirror, but it wasn't there when she looked again.

"It looks really creepy tonight, mom," Kayden mentioned quietly as he looked out his window.

Jack glanced over to him and then back to the road. "Why do you say that?" she asked, knowing he could see out into the pitch black fields.

He looked back at her, "Because the farmers cut down most of the crops last week and all of the scarecrows are visible now." He turned his attention back out the window. "They look like something from a scary movie. You know, like they are waiting for someone to enter their fields so they can grab them."

Giggling, Jack shook her head, "You sure do have a very wild imagination, Kayden."

Out of nowhere, bright lights, litup the truck from behind them. Kayden and Jack both jumped. "Whoa, where did they come from?" Kayden asked.

Jack wasn't sure. They hadn't had anyone behind them for miles and now a truck that had to have had its lights off was suddenly there. She continued to drive at her current speed, which was somewhat slow compared to what she would normally do down through there during the day.

The truck that now seemed to be tailgating Jack flashed itslights as if they wanted Jack to either stop or go faster. She knew better than to pull over and stop, so Jack rolled down her window some and stuck her hand out. Witha waving motion, Jack tried to tell the person to just go around her.

Kayden turned around to look back at the bright lights. "Why don't they just go around, mom?" he asked her.

Jack shook her head, "I have no idea. But make sure your seat belt is tight, okay?"

He nodded and checked it like she told him to.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's a day late, but I kept getting error messages every time I would come here to upload. :( Feedback is welcome and cherished. I know you're reading because of the stats, but I would love to read what everyone thinks of it! Thank you to the few who do leave feedback each time! THANK YOU!<br>**


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER 29:**

* * *

><p>Out of nowhere, bright light lit up the truck from behind. Kayden and Jack both jumped. "Whoa, where did they come from?" Kayden asked.<p>

Jack wasn't sure. There hadn't been anyone behind them for miles and now a truck that had to have had its lights off was suddenly there. She continued to drive at her current speed, which was somewhat slow compared to what she would normally do down through there during the day.

The truck that now seemed to be tailgating Jack flashed its lights as if they wanted Jack to either stop or go faster. She knew better than to pull over and stop, so Jack rolled down her window some and stuck her hand out. With a waving motion, Jack tried to tell the person to just go around her.

Kayden turned around to look back at the bright lights. "Why don't they just go around, mom?" he asked her.

Jack shook her head, "I have no idea. But make sure your seat belt is tight, okay?"

He nodded and checked it like she told him to.

They both gasped when they felt the second truck bump into the back of the one they were in. "What the hell is their problem?" Jack asked out loud.

Still buckled in, Kayden tried to turn somewhat in the seat to see if he could see into the truck behind them. "If only he would shut his lights back off," Kayden told Jack. "Then I could see who the hell it is."

Jack glanced over at him, "Given the situation I'm going to let that word slide." There was a bigger jolt this time as the truck nudged them again. "Kayden, can you see any driveways or houses up ahead?" she asked, knowing he could see into the darkness beyond their headlights.

Kayden sat straight in his seat and stared first at one side of the road and then the other. "I don't know, mom," he said but kept looking. "The weeds on the sides of the road are too tall for me to see any openings."

With a sigh, Jack nodded and did her best to keep concentrating not only on driving, but on the asshole behind her. _With God as my witness if you hurt my kids, there's nothing that will keep you safe from me and Riddick, _she thought.

"Mom!" Kayden said to bring her out of her thoughts. "I think he's going around us," he told her, while watching the truck behind them.

Jack glanced into the driver's side mirror. "When the truck passes us, Kayden, I want you to try as hard as you can to get a good look at who's in the truck," she told him.

Kayden sat up straight and turned his head towards his mom's window. He watched as the truck started to pass them.

As the other truck became somewhat even with theirs, Jack glanced over, but could only see a dark figure. "Can you recognize the person?" she asked just as she stepped on the brake to slow down; she hoped the asshole would just pass and leave them be.**  
><strong>**  
><strong>Right as Kayden opened his mouth to answer her, the second truck made a sudden jerk to the right and slammed into them. Kayden screamed for his mom.

Jack did the only thing she could think of: slam on her brakes and turn the steering wheel away from the impact.

When she turned the truck to the side, the soft dirt on the edge of the road caught the tires. Before Jack could get the truck back onto the hard gravel they were pulled into the ditch; thankfully they were still upright and hadn't flipped over.

Since the ditches on this road were shallow, the truck went down into it and stopped with its nose in the air on the other side.

Rori, who had been asleep, woke when the collision occurred. Being scared and confused, she immediately started crying.

Jack's first reaction was to ignore the small pain in her neck and check on her kids. "You okay?" she asked Kayden while already trying to see Rori.

Kayden answered her with a quiet, "Yes."

The frightened little girl in the backseat was doing her best to reach for her mommy. "Mama," she screamed, sobbing now.

"Mommy's going to get you out in just a minute," she told her. "Kayden, did you recognize who was driving?"

He didn't answer at first; his eyes were locked back on the road.

Jack reached over and touched his shoulder, thinking he might be going into shock over what happened.

Kayden's hand raised up and pointed at the other truck that had stopped further down the road. "It's coming back," he screamed.

Looking back to the road, Jack saw the back up lights shine in the darkness as the truck began to slowly back up towards them. "Shit," she said. "Hold on, kids!"

Since the truck was still in gear, Jack stepped on the gas; the truck rocked a little front to back as the engine roared and the tires spun, but they didn't move anywhere. Reaching over onto the console, she turned the dial from two wheel drive to four wheel drive.

She looked back to the other truck and saw how close it was. Again she pumped the gas and this time, after a moment of slight shaking, the tires got traction. Jack drove the truck out of the ditch and into the recently harvested field.

"Where are we going?" Kayden asked, while sitting sideways in his seat to see if they were being followed.

Jack's hands gripped the wheel tightly. "Towards that house," she told him; keeping her eyes on the lights ahead of them. "Are they coming?"

"No. Shh, Rori, it's okay!" he told her as she kept crying. "Mom has to get us someplace safe."

Sure enough, a few yard ahead the soft dirt field turned into a hard driveway. Jack spun the steering wheel, getting the truck to go towards the house. As they came closer to it, she pressed her hand against the horn button and didn't let up.

She pulled their truck up into the grass that was in front of the house. Once stopped she began flashing the headlights while still blasting the horn.

"Please be home! Please be home!" she chanted out loud.

Within seconds an older man with a large gun opened the front door and stepped onto his porch.

Jack threw the truck into park and tried to get out her door. When the door wouldn't budge she groaned in frustration and hit the window with her open hand. "I'm going to climb over you," she told Kayden as she was already doing it. "Please call the sheriff, someone just ran us off the road," she yelled as she opened the passenger side door.

The man, who was in a white wife beater with pants held up by suspenders, stopped pointing the gun at her. "They did what?" he asked.

The man's wife, who was in her night gown and house coat, was right behind him. "For pete's sake, Henry, get them inside and call Chester." She motioned to Jack. "Come in here, you'll be safe until Chester gets here."

Jack didn't waste any time getting her kids inside the house. Once inside, Jack and the kids sat on the couch. Kayden was sitting real close to his mom while she tried to soothe Rori as she clung to her mommy.

"Thank you, Chester," Henry said into the phone before hanging up. "He's on his way." He walked over to the front window and peeked out the curtain, his gun was leaned against the wall by the door.

Claire, Henry's wife, returned from the kitchen with a towel that had ice in it. "Here you go, young man," she said and gave him the towel.

"Thank you," Jack told her and helped Kayden hold the ice on his elbow that he had hit on the door when they went into the ditch.

"Is there anyone else I can call for you, Mrs.," Henry trailed off, since he hadn't even asked their names.

"Mrs. Richards," she informed him quietly. "I need to call, um," she paused, wishing she could call Riddick. "I need to call my neighbor."

Claire gestured to the phone, "Call anyone you need to."

Jack moved and Rori freaked out. She hugged her mommy's neck even tighter. "No, mama," she begged not to be put down.**  
><strong>**  
><strong>"I'm not putting you down, baby girl. Mommy has to call Brent and Marcy," Jack took Rori with her to the phone.

When Claire softly smiled at Rori, Rori quickly laid her head down on her mommy's shoulder and continued to watch the older woman.

As Jack pushed the numbers that dialed Brent and Marcy's number, her hands began to shake. Normally, she prayed that Riddick could make it home on time, but tonight she prayed that Imam would somehow help him make it home fourteen hours early.

"Hello?" Brent's voice brought her our of her thoughts again.

She cleared her throat before she spoke quietly, "Hi, Brent."

"Jack? Where you calling from, I don't recognize the number," he stated.

Moving Rori more onto her hip, Jack took in a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. "The kids and I had some trouble and we ended up at a nice couple's house," she said, suddenly remembering something. "I didn't even ask the address." She turned and looked at Claire, who recited it for her.

After he was told the address, Brent spoke again, "What kind of trouble did you have?"

"Someone purposely ran us off the road on our way home. We ended up in the ditch and I had to put the truck in four wheel drive just to get us out of it and through a field," she told him.

Brent sighed, trying to keep calm. "Are you three okay?" he asked, but didn't wait for her answer. "Never mind, regardless if you are or not, Marcy and I will make sure you get to the hospital and then back to our house safely."

She could hear the rustling of clothes as she listened to Brent move around on the other end. Jack adjusted Rori again, just holding her was making Jack's neck ache even more. "Okay. Sheriff Chester was already called and should be here soon. Can you guys meet us at the address I gave you?" she questioned.

"We will be there real soon, Jack," he told her before they both hung up.

After Jack put the phone down, she walked back over to the couch and sat next to Kayden again. "Thank you for taking us in and I'm sorry if I scared you with the horn," she looked at Henry.

Henry waved her off with his hands, "Now don't you worry about that."

Her attention went to Claire as she came in from the kitchen; she hadn't even noticed when she had left the room, "We are just glad we were home tonight to help you." She put a tray of cookies and cold tea on the coffee table. "Normally, we would be at the Net Club playing cards, but Henry has been fighting off a cold," she said as she offered a napkin with two cookies on it to Kayden who took it and thanked her.

"I was fine two days ago, Claire. No need telling the world I'm sick; People get pale looking when they get old, that's all," Henry told his wife before he looked out the window again.

Claire rolled her eyes before holding out a napkin with a cookie on it to Rori, "Would you like a cookie, little one?"

Rori, who was still holding onto her mommy's shirt with one fist, looked at the napkin. "Den tow tooties, Wowi un tootie?" she asked Claire.

A small smile graced Jack's lips. "Rori, you only get one cookie right now because you only have one hand free to hold the cookie," Jack mentioned, gently tapping Rori's fist that held her shirt.

Jack tensed up when headlights from outside flashed across the room.

Henry picked up his gun and looked out the window again. "It's just Chester," he said with a nod in Jack's direction. "No need to worry."

She nodded back at him while she watched him put his gun back down before opening the door.

The sheriff was greeted by Henry and Claire as he entered the house and took off his hat. "Mrs. Richards," he said as he stepped more into the living room. "I hear you had a mishap with someone tonight."

Kayden wiped his mouth off with his napkin and looked at the sheriff. "I believe the word mishap isn't what you should call it, sir," he told him in a quiet voice while reaching to put the towel with ice back on his elbow.

"Now isn't the time, son," Jack whispered to him.

Chester raised a hand to stop her, "It's alright, Mrs. Richards." He took out the same notepad from his shirt pocket that he had the day he had returned Rori to them. "What might be a better word for what happened?"

Looking back up at him, Kayden spoke in his normal pitch, "Intentional, deliberate, premeditated; take your pick, just don't call it an accident."

Jack nodded in agreement, "It wasn't an accident." Her face became serious as she looked from Kayden to the Sheriff. "And I do believe you and I both know who did it."

There was another flash of light from the front windows. Both Chester and Henry walked to the window and looked out. "Did you call Mr. Overly?," the sheriff asked Jack as he moved to open the door.

**"**Yes. My husband is away on business and won't be back until tomorrow morning," she told him.

"I'm looking for my friend, Jack," Brent said from the front porch.

When he was let in, Jack felt some relief come over her, even though her neck was killing her now. "Robbie's going to be so mad," she said to him before she could stop herself.

Brent came over to them and squatted down. "I'm pretty ticked off myself and you aren't even my wife and kids," he said with a smile. "So I know Robbie's going to be more than mad."

Sheriff Chester walked back to where he had been standing before Brent had arrived. "I was just starting to ask what happened, but judging by the way Mrs. Richards is holding her neck, I think we should have them checked out at the clinic," he said, figuring if there was a need for it they could send for an ambulance from the hospital in Springers.

Standing up, Brent agreed with him, "I wasn't leaving my wife and three kids at home alone with some maniac on the loose, so I don't exactly have room for them in my truck."

"Not a problem," Chest said. "Ever been in a sheriff's car while the lights and sirens are going?" he asked Kayden with a smirk.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30:**

* * *

><p>At the clinic, even though the doctor insisted that Jack's neck injury could be serious, Jack made it very clear she wanted her kids checked out first.<p>

Out in the hallway, Brent and Sheriff Chester were waiting patiently for not only the reports on their injuries, but also for a moment to talk to Jack about the altercation.

Because Kayden was showing the most signs of an injury, Doctor Cork preformed a scan of his entire body even though it was just his elbow that was giving him issues. The hand held scanner gave results almost like the old x-ray machines would; instead of the large picture being held up to a light source, the scan gave results on a computer chip that could be put into a computer. The medical device could pinpoint and zoom in to any injuries that it detected.

When the doctor put the chip into his computer, Kayden thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen. "That's what the inside of my arm looks like?" he asked the doctor, amazed at what he was seeing on the screen.

Doctor Cork nodded and pointed some things out to him. "These pictures show the bones and the ligaments that make up your arm," he told Kayden while studying the pictures. "I'm not seeing any breaks of your bones or tearing of ligament tissue." The doctor turned to smile at Jack. "I think your son has a sprain."

Rori, who refused to leave her mommy's lap, looked at the doctor, "Den owies?"

While writing down notes on an order sheet, the doctor smiled. "Yes, Kayden has a big owie. He needs to rest it for at least a week, keep it in a sling when he's up doing things and ice it four or five times a day until the swelling goes away," he said and handed Jack the instructions. "Kayden, would you like to go with Nurse Becky? She will wrap your arm in a compression bandage and show you how to get your arm comfortable in the sling."

Kayden was still looking at the pictures on the computer. "I wish Dadwas here to see these pictures," he said almost sadly as he stood up to go with the nurse.

The doctor thought for a moment, "Do you have a computer at home, Kayden?"

He nodded, "Yes."

Reaching over to the computer, Doctor Cork ejected the chip from the computer. "You have no breaks so there's no need for me to keep this," he said and handed the chip to Kayden. "If you look through the pictures, you will be able to see the rest of your body as well."

Kayden's jaw dropped open before he smiled, "Thank you. My Dad's going to think this is so cool too, isn't he, Mom?"

Jack smiled back at her son and spoke quietly. "He is, now why don't you ask Brent to go with you and Nurse Becky?" she said, not wanting Kayden to be alone in the clinic. "Maybe when your arm is bandaged, Brent will take you to get a drink in the dining hall where Marcy and the kids are waiting."

After Kayden and the nurse left the room, the doctor smiled at Rori, "Your turn to be checked out, Rori."**  
><strong>**  
><strong>Instead of smiling back at him, like she normally would, Rori shook her head. "No," she told him seriously.

With his stethoscope in his ears already, he tilted his head and frowned. "No? But don't you want me to make sure you are okay?" he asked her.

Again, Rori shook her head and gripped Jack's shirt.

"Aurora, Doctor Cork needs to make sure you don't have any owies like brother. I bet if you are a big girl and let him do his job he has a sucker with your name on it," she whispered to her daughter.

The little girl looked up at her mommy. "No, mama!" she told her and started to cry.

Jack pouted and moved Rori so she was hugging her. "It's okay, baby girl. Doctor Cork isn't going to hurt you," she tried to reassure her.

The doctor nodded. "That's right. If you don't want a sucker you can have a popsicle," he offered and that made her cry even harder. "I'll take that as a no." He thought again, "Oh, Rori, I know just the thing you would love. In the treasure chest for the good little boys and girls, there's a princess crown that would look very pretty on you."

Jack pretended to gasp, "A princess crown for daddy's princess. Do you want that?" She felt Rori nod her head as she started to calm herself down. "Well, if that's what you want, then you need to let Doctor Cork examine you for any owies."

Slowly, she lifted her head and looked at the doctor. "Otay," she said with a small hiccup.

Twenty minutes later, Brent and an unhurt Rori followed Nurse Becky down to the room that had the treasure chest in it. The only reason Rori agreed to leave her mommy was because of the promise of a princess crown, orange pop like Kayden and being returned to her mommy as soon as she got it.

The doctor closed the door and looked at Jack. "Now will you let me look at your neck?" he asked her.

Jack sighed, "I'm sure it's just whiplash. Nothing I haven't dealt with before."

"But we both know it could be worse than that," he said.

Outside in the hallway, Sheriff Chester could be heard asking the nurse about the condition of Jack and her kids.

Jack did another sigh, something she had done a lot tonight, as the doctor listened to her heart and lungs. "Any way you could prescribe a trip back in time? Just a few hours would be great."

The doctor began to touch Jack's neck and shoulders to see if he could feel anything out of place. "Wish I could, but I was sick that day of doctor school," he smirked. Walking over to get the body scanner he spoke again, "Do you know who did this?"

Jack took off her sweater, but kept her t-shirt on. "More than likely, but I couldn't see who it was in the dark and it happened so fast that I don't think Kayden could see either," she told him as she stood tall; her eyes closed as the he ran the scanner over her head and body.

"I'm sure Chester can help you," he tried to reassure her while setting the scanner down on the table while it created the pictures he needed.

"Don't hold your breath on that, doc," she sat back down on the exam table.

There was a knock on the door that made both Jack and Doctor Cork look up.

"Come in," the doctor called out.

Sheriff Chester came in, his hat was in his hands. "Is this a good time to talk?" he asked both Jack and the doctor.

"Well, I was just about to look over the results of Mrs. Richards' body scan," he told the Sheriff. "It will take a few minutes, so you can chat with her while we wait."

With a nod, Chester looked at Jack, "I was wondering if you could give me some details about what happened, Mrs. Richards?"

Jack slowly worked at getting her sweater back on. "I'm sure if you were to go look at his truck, you would be able to see that the damage matches the damage on my truck," she mentioned.

Chester's eyes darted from Jack to the doctor, who was busying himself with the scanner pictures. "I would do that, but I need some evidence that point to him," he stated.

Narrowing her eyes, Jack tried not to shake her head because she knew it would hurt like hell. "What kind of evidence do you need? Because all I can tell you is that it was dark and I couldn't see who was driving," she said, not believing that he couldn't just go look at Mr. Camp's truck.

"I know it was dark, Mrs. Richards, but," he paused and pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think. "What about, did you hear anything that you recognized as being Mr. Camp's truck? A loud tail pipe or maybe squeaky brakes?"

Jack tried to remember anything, but the only thing she could picture was Kayden screaming and then Rori crying in the back seat as the other truck collided with them."The mirror," she said and stopped to close her eyes for a moment. "The mirror on the other truck was different than the mirror on mine." She opened her eyes and continued, "It was connected differently than how mine is connected by the thick part on the door frame."

Sheriff Chester smiled and wrote that in his notebook. "That's good, Mrs. Richards, real good. Do you think Kayden might have seen something that would be helpful?"

She shook her head and immediately put her hand on the back of her neck. "It happened so fast, but he might have," she told him.

Doctor Cork took the opportunity to speak up. "Sheriff, if you would excuse us, the results are ready and I'm sure my patient would like to hear them," he said with a smile.

With a nod, Chester pointed to the door, "Maybe when you are through in here, we can speak to Kayden. I'm sure he would prefer to have his mom with him when thinking back to what happened."

"And I would feel better being there for him as well," she stated.

After they were alone again in the room, the doctor smiled at Jack, "I'm not seeing anything major wrong with your neck or back. I think it's as you said, whiplash that is more intense because you were probably tensed up when everything took place."

Jack smiled at that news, "Good. So I can take my kids home now?"

The doctor held up a hand to stop her from standing up. "There is one more thing I need to go over. Something that the body scan picked up," he stated as Jack's smile drifted away.

* * *

><p>"I've seen and heard that you are a very intelligent young man, Kayden. Your mom tells me you pick up on things rather quickly for a boy your age, is that true?" Sheriff Chester asked Kayden as he stood with his back against the wall.<p>

Kayden, who was sitting next to his mom on a bench in the hallway nodded, "Yeah."

"I need to ask you some things about the premeditated attack tonight," he smiled when Kayden smiled at the word choice. "I know that with your special eyes you are able to see in the dark. Do you remember if you got a look at who was either driving or riding in the truck that hit you?"

Kayden shook his head before looking down the hallway where the door to the lunch room was open. Brent was sitting on the floor in the doorway so that David and Rori couldn't get into the hallway. Both kids would laugh as they neared him and he would stick out his hands like he was going to tickle them, only to have them laugh and back away.

"Okay. Let's think about something else. Your mom remembered the mirror of the other truck being different from her truck. Do you remember anything about the truck?" Sheriff Chester questioned.

"Like what?" Kayden asked when he turned back to look at the Sheriff.

"Anything at all; did it have a backseat like your truck does? Or maybe you noticed something that it was hauling in the bed part," Sheriff Chester said, trying to get Kayden to think.

The young boy sighed and looked at his mom, "Did Dad say if he was going to be home earlier than tomorrow morning?"

Jack frowned and rubbed his back lightly with her hand. "He's going to try. Now, I know this is hard and you want to go home, but we both need to think really hard about the truck so that Sheriff Chester can help us. Can you do that for me?" she asked him quietly.

Nodding, he leaned against her somewhat. "There was no second side window like we have. So there wasn't a back seat," he told them.

Chester wrote that down and waited for Kayden to say what else he remembered.

"I don't know if there was anything in the bed part," Kayden added. "But the tailgate was up, so there could have been something back there." He shrugged.

"Tailgate, got it," he wrote that down. "Did you notice any lettering or pictures on the side of the truck?" His eyes glanced at Jack for a moment before looking back at Kayden.

Kayden shook his head as he spoke. "I don't recall. There could have been, but I don't," he paused and looked down. "There was just too much commotion. My arm was hurting, my sister was screaming and my mom was changing. I couldn't focus," even though he was looking down his voice was trembling as if he was about to cry.

Jack wasn't sure what he meant when he said she had been changing, but she was done putting her son through this. "Sheriff, I would like to take my children home now. Maybe if we remember more in the morning, my husband will bring us to your office," she said, already standing up. "Come on, hun!"

They left the Sheriff standing alone in the hallway as they walked towards Brent to let him know they were ready to go.

When they were almost to the lunch room, Kayden stopped and turned to look back at Sheriff Chester. "Sheriff," he said and watched the man look at him. "I got a glimpse at the owner tag number, but I don't remember it right now. Tomorrow I probably will."

"Why don't you call me in the morning and let me know if you remember anything else, Kayden!" he told him.

Kayden nodded, "I'll do that."

Both Jack and Kayden turned and finished their short walk to the lunch room.

* * *

><p>Sheriff Chester drove Jack and the kids back to their truck that was still sitting where Jack had parked it on the nice couple's lawn. When they arrived there, the Sheriff told Jack that his deputy would be out in the morning to take pictures of the truck as evidence.<p>

Brent and his oldest son Chase climbed in through Jack's passenger door of her truck and waited for Jack to get her two kids buckled into the other truck with Marcy. With a flash of her lights, to let Brent know they were ready, Marcy followed Sheriff Chester's police car as he drove towards Jack's house.

Chester's deputy had scoped out not only Jack's house and property, but Brent's as well. He hadn't found anything suspicious, but he recommended Jack and the kids stay some place else for the night. Jack agreed to that on the condition that she be taken to her house to get Cole and some over night things for the her and the kids.

It was only a few minutes later when the convoy of three vehicles pulled into Jack's driveway and up to the house. Through the front door, Cole could be seen looking out; he was doing what he had been trained to do: guard the house.

Thankfully, Rori had fallen asleep during the short drive, so Jack didn't have to bring her into the house with her. Brent climbed out of Jack's truck and stood outside to keep an eye on things as Sheriff Chester and Jack walked up the front steps and stopped at the door.

"It shouldn't take me long. Only need to grab some clothes for tonight," she told Chester when she unlocked the door.

The Sheriff nodded as he watched Cole dart past them and down the steps to find a place to relieve himself. "Want me to come inside and check things out for you, Mrs. Richards?" he asked, his hand was resting on his gun belt just in case.

She shook her head, "Cole wouldn't be that calm if something was wrong." Jack turned on the light for the living room before heading up the inside stairs.

Once upstairs, Jack went into Kayden's room and quickly got him some pajamas and extra clothes. She then headed into the bathroom that was across the hall where she gathered the three toothbrushes before heading to the hallway closet.

In the closet she pulled out the empty storage container she would use to transport their over night stuff in. After putting the already collected stuff into it, she carried it to Rori's room. "Gotta get her some jammies, extra clothes, her baby doll and blanket," Jack said out loud, not wanting to miss anything.

By the time she made it to her room, the container was over half full. She tried to move fast, not wanting to keep everyone waiting any longer. After collecting her things she looked around the room to see if there was anything else she needed.

_My shiv is in my purse, so I don't need that, _she thought. Just as she was about to leave the room, she glanced over to thedesk that had her laptop on it. _I know I won't be sleeping tonight, might as well bring myself something to keep me occupied. _She grabbed it and tucked it between her pants and night clothes.

Jack shut the lights off again as she walked back down stairs. She put the storage container on the floor before grabbing one last thing off the couch: the soft blanket Riddick had given her all those years ago. "I'm ready," she told the Sheriff when he opened the door for her.

"I did a check of the perimeter, everything still looks locked up safe," he said, taking the big basket of belongings from her.

"Thank you. I'm sure as soon as my husband gets home tomorrow, he will be checking on everything as well," they walked to Jack's truck and the Sheriff placed the container in the very back of it for her.

"I made sure Mr. Overly had my number in case something comes up tonight. Call if you need or remember anything, no matter what time it is," Sheriff Chester told her.

With a nod and a small smile, Jack moved away from him so she could get in with Marcy.

Sitting between Brent and Chase, Cole barked once as Brent started the truck and followed Marcy the short distance to their house.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31:**

* * *

><p>At Brent and Marcy's house, Jack tried to keep her mind off what had happened to her and the kids. She insisted that Marcy relax with her feet up in the living room while she got the kids their bed time snack in the kitchen. Even though Kayden would be staying home from school the next day, Chase and Elaine were going, which meant they needed their snacks and then showers.<p>

Brent sat on a counter-top eating his celery and carrots with peanut butter. "Maybe you should sit down and relax too, Jack. I believe the doctor's orders were for you to take it easy so you don't hurt your neck worse," he reminded her.

Jack moved about the kitchen, getting napkins and glasses of milk for everyone. "I'm fine, but thank you for the concern," she gave him the best smile she could muster up.

Narrowing his eyes in her direction, Brent shook his head. "Wait until I tell your husband how defiant you are," he winked at her, just wanting her to be less tense.

"My dad already knows she is defiant. He tells her that a lot," Kayden said as he did his best to use his good hand to get some peanut butter on his carrot.

Brent chuckled, "If she is anything like Marcy, which I know she is, they are both defiant when it comes to making sure their children are taken care of. Sometimes they don't think about how what they do will affect them later."

Kayden nodded, "I think that's called being invincible, Brent. It's what super heroes think about themselves too."

Giving Kayden his glass of milk, Jack finally offered a real smile, "Moms are super heroes, Kayden."

Elaine got up to put her plate and glass in the sink. "Dads think that way too, right, dad?" she asked Brent.

Taking a big swallow of milk, Brent cleared his sticky mouth before he spoke, "We sure do, sweetheart. We will do anything to protect our close and extended family. No matter if it means we will be suffering later."

With a smile, Elaine turned to leave the kitchen. "I call dibs on showering first," she told her twin brother.

"You always shower first," Chase remarked while reaching for his last celery stick.

As she disappeared down the hallway, Elaine called back to him, "Maybe if you learned to chew faster then you could be first."

"Alright, you two!" Brent said loud enough for Elaine to hear him too. "Don't need you two fighting tonight. We've got company and I'm sure they don't want to hear you squabbling," he added with a grin.

Jack stepped into the living room to see if Marcy was full or if she wanted some more.**  
><strong>Rori, who had been glued to her mom even after they arrived, looked up at that moment. "No bye bye, Mama!" she called out, thinking her mom was leaving. As fast as she could, Rori started to bring her legs up so she could stand in the high chair.

Brent quickly hopped off the counter and put his plate on the table. "Rori, you can't stand up or you will fall," he told her as he reached for her.

She brought her hand up and swatted at Brent's hand. "No, Bit! Wowi doe, Mama!" she informed him and slapped at his hand again.

Jack turned around and placed her hands on her hips. "Aurora J. Richards, you sit down and you do not hit Brent," she scolded her daughter.

Looking up at her mommy, Rori did as she was told, but started to cry right after.

Shaking her head, Jack walked over to her and got her out of the high chair. "Brent was trying to keep you from falling," she said while gently rubbing Rori's back. "I think you need to tell Brent sorry for hitting him."

Rori made no attempt to tell Brent anything. Instead she clung to Jack and continued to cry into her mommy's shoulder.

"I think it's going to be an early night for all of us," Brent said quietly. "I'll take your blankets up to Greg's room and get them ready for you three."

Jack frowned, "I'm sorry she hit you, Brent."

He held up his hands. "It's been a very long and hard day for her, for all three of you, there's no need to apologize," he said with a smile. "And besides, I remember what it's like having a toddler who is tired and cranky." He glanced over to Greg; when he was going through his terrible twos, Greg could throw a major tantrum when he was tired.

She kept rubbing Rori's back as she watched Brent and Chase leave the room. Jack could hear that Rori was starting to calm down; a few yawns were mixed in with her soft whimpering sounds and Rori seemed to be possibly falling to sleep.

Waddling into the kitchen, Marcy put her dishes on the counter. "I'm sure once Robbie gets home and you are all together in your home, she will feel better," she told her friend.

"I think it's because you've changed, Mom," Kayden mentioned while pushing his chair in one handed.

Jack looked over to him; he had mentioned that at the hospital, but she still wasn't sure what he meant. "What do you mean by that, Hun?" she asked as she swayed side to side.

He stared at her for a moment, "After you read the note that was on the windshield you became different." He could see that both Marcy and his mom were having trouble understanding what he was trying to say. "You know how Dad says he knows when we are upset or sick, even before he can see us or talk to us?"

Jack was starting to comprehend what he was talking about. "That's because he can smell our scents," she told him.

"Yeah that," he smiled at her. "Maybe that's what has changed about you. You smell different than normal." Kayden nodded. "I bet she can smell it too and she doesn't like it," he told her as he came to give her a one armed hug. "I don't like it either, can you change back?"

Jack was speechless at the moment. She looked up at Marcy who was frowning at her.

"Are you scared, Jack?" Marcy whispered.

She nodded her head once, but didn't say anything as she did her best to hug Kayden while still holding a now sleeping Rori.

Marcy sighed quietly, "Even my kids get nervous and panicky when I'm upset. I can only imagine what it must be like for your two knowing that you are scared, even though you aren't showing it physically."

"I didn't realize," she started to say, but stopped. "Everything is going to be alright. Your Dad will be here in the morning and he'll know how to fix everything."

It was almost four hours later, when Jack finally settled down between Kayden and Rori on the floor in Greg's room. Earlier, after she had made sure both her kids were asleep, she had went downstairs to not only call Riddick, but to do a check of the doors and windows.

She sat there now, with her computer on her lap. When they had been at the clinic Brent called Riddick for her, but she could only talk long enough to tell him they were okay and she would call him with the full details later. Her thoughts were filled with the lengthy conversation they ended up having later after the kids were asleep. With as much detail as she could, she had told him about everything from the note to what Kayden had said about her changing.

Riddick had assured her that he would be home first thing in the morning and everything would be handled. Even though he refused to talk about it over the phone, Jack knew what he meant by that; she didn't really like the idea, but at this point it seemed to be their only option.

Jack focused back on her computer, hoping that if she found something useful then Riddick would change his mind over what he was going to do.

With just a few skillful clicks and some words entered she was inside of Mr. Camp's work computer.

She looked around the inside of his computer, but found no files saved to the hard drive. Jack decided to look at Mr. Camp's internet search history.

Scrolling down to the very first date saved, Jack shook her head. _Looks as though he has it set to save everything that he does on here, _she thought while slowly checking day by day, starting two months prior.

After a few minutes of searching, she finally came to the stuff she was looking for. Not only had Mr. Camp been trying to find information about her and Riddick, but also Brent and Marcy. Jack saved everything to her computer in a very hidden file before getting out of Mr. Camp's computer.

Jack sat still for a moment while she stared at the nightlight on the other side of the room; her ears listened to the loud pitter patter of the rain outside. _Thankfully we know more about him than he seems to know about us, _she thought and glanced over to Greg as he turned over in his bed. Just as she decided to try to lay down and relax her neck, Kayden spoke to her.

"My arm hurts," he told her quietly.

Shutting her computer, Jack set it aside and looked at her watch. "It's past the time for your next dose of medicine," she whispered. Standing up, Jack moved to the basket she had brought with them. Grabbing her purse, Jack rummaged around in it to find his bottle of pain medicine the doctor had given to her for him.

Crawling back into the make shift bed on the floor, Jack smiled seeing Kayden sleeping again. "Kayden, I've got your medicine and my bottle of water for you," she whispered to him while running her hand over his cheek.

Kayden opened his eyes and blinked a few times. "Is Dad going to be home soon?" he asked as he slowly sat up.

Jack handed him his pill before taking the top off the water. "I'm hoping by the time you and Aurora wake up he will be home," she said quietly.

After taking his medicine, he handed the bottle back to his mom and laid back down. "We need to call Sheriff Chester in the morning," he mumbled, trying not to drift back to sleep yet.

"Why is that?" she asked, laying next to him.

"The truck that hit us had an owner tag number with the number fifteen and an 'M' next to it," he told her.

Jack thought about what he had said, "You remembered that while sleeping?"

While yawning, Kayden nodded, "Yes. I knew I saw the owner tag number, but it hadn't sunk into my brain yet."

She smiled as she watched him close his eyes. "That's because you have so much knowledge in your brain that it takes some time to find a place to put the new information," she whispered into his ear and kissed his cheek.

There was a pause, which made Jack think he had gone back to sleep. Just as she closed her own eyes, Kayden whispered to her again, "Genius at work."

* * *

><p>Jack had managed to get a couple of hours worth of restless sleep before Rori woke her up. Seeing that the little angel was wide awake, Jack took her and her baby doll downstairs.<p>

"We have to be quiet, because everyone is still sleeping," she told Rori as they sat at the kitchen table eating some crackers with butter.

The smile that had been absent after the incident returned to Rori's face. "No Wowi! Wowi pay, Mama," she informed her mommy in between licks of her little fingers.

Jack giggled quietly, "I know you aren't sleeping, but if we play we might wake everyone up." She used the knife to put more butter on a cracker. "Maybe after this cracker we can cuddle on the couch and read some books."

Rori munched on the last cracker and like a big girl she used her napkin to wipe her hands off the best she could. "Otay," she said with a mouthful of food.

While Jack cleaned up the table, Rori got a few books off Marcy's book shelf in the living room. When Jack was done, she laid down on the couch with herself between the edge and Rori.

Almost an hour later the sun was just starting to shine through the wet trees and Rori was starting to get tired again. Jack laid on her side as she softly rubbed small circles on the little girl's belly and hummed a quiet song.

Closing her own eyes, Jack listened to the stillness that surrounded them. The only sound she could hear were the ducks in the front yard. _Must be going for a morning swim in the puddles, _she thought; knowing there had to be the large puddle in the driveway that frequently appeared when it rained.**  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Riddick drove his truck into Brent's driveway. As he neared the house, ducks scurried out of a large mud puddle and to the safety of the near by grass; everyone of them making it known how mad they were for being interrupted.<p>

Almost before the truck was put into gear and shut off, Riddick was getting out of it. Ever since the phone calls with Jack the night before, his mind was set on getting to his family and now that he was this close to them, he felt the need to move even faster.

As he raced up the front steps he was greeted by the sight of Cole looking out the front window. Looking inside that same window, Riddick spotted Jack and Rori asleep on the couch. He hated to wake them, but at the same time he wasn't going to wait for them to wake up on their own and let him in.

Raising his hand up, he tapped lightly on the window; hoping it would wake Jack, but not Rori.

Sure enough, Jack's head shot off the pillow and stared directly at him. Recognition washed over her face and she slowly removed her arm from under Rori's head. She got off the couch and hurried to the door. "Riddick," she said in a shaky voice as she unlocked the door.

Riddick didn't wait for her to let him into the house. As soon as she had the door open he cupped her face and kissed her lips. "Are you okay?" he questioned, needing to physically see that she and his kids were okay even though she told him on the phone about their injuries.

Jack was still trying to hold back the tears that she had been holding in for the last fourteen hours. "Yeah, I'm just so glad you are home now," she kissed him again before wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

While they were standing there with the door open, Cole snuck out, but was back before they knew it.

Letting go of him, Jack stepped to the side so that Riddick could close and lock the door. "You sure you are okay?" he asked her when he turned to look at her again. It seemed as though he was getting a couple of different scents from her, but her fear was over powering everything. _I hate the smell of fear on her. Makes my stomach churn and my blood boil, _he thought as he watched her, hating the man that did this to his wife.

Jack rubbed her neck some. "My neck hurts pretty much worse than it did last night. Although, Doctor Cork warned me about that," she took his hand and pulled him to the other end of the couch.

He leaned over and gently kissed Rori's head. "What about her and Kayden?" he asked when he finally sat down and pulled Jack onto his lap.

"She seems fine, even happier than last night. She got me up at about five and was wide awake," Jack told him as she nuzzled her face into his neck, inhaling his scent.

"Kayden still sleeping?" His hand rubbed over her cloth covered leg as he listened to Brent's quiet house.

Jack sat up a little more and tried to remember not to nod, "Yup. I'm sure he will be out for another couple of hours. He woke up a little after three and said his arm was hurting again. Can't blame him for that, I'm sure the children's pain medicine the doctor gave him had worn off by then."

They sat there for a minute in silence, he could tell she was trying to stay strong. Riddick reached up and gently brought Jack's head to his. They rested their foreheads together as he quietly whispered to her, "I'm here now. You don't have to be afraid anymore, Baby."

The tears she had been holding back started to slip down her cheeks. "All I keep thinking is what if Rori remembers this in ten years and hates me because I didn't get her out of her car seat when she was begging me to? She was so scared, but I didn't know what he was going to do; I had to get them out there," she was trying her hardest to whisper it to him so she wouldn't disturb Rori or anyone else.

He shook his head and cupped her face again. His thumbs brushed away the tears, "You did what you had to do to keep our kids from getting hurt more. So don't even think about the what ifs, I just want you to think about the fact that you three are safe and that I'm here to take care of you now."

Jack kissed his lips. "I'll try to," she said. "I need to tell you something else."

Riddick smiled as he tucked some hair behind her ear, "What is it?"

"Doctor Cork did a full body scan when he was checking me out and he said that he found something else," she stopped when she heard the small squeak of a voice beside them.

"Hi, Dada," Rori said from her spot on the other end of the couch.

Grinning, Riddick watched her rub her eyes. "Hi, Princess! Did we wake you up?" he asked.

Rori sat up and crawled the short distance to her daddy. As soon as she was close enough to him, she stood up and hugged his neck, just about as tight as Jack had earlier.

"What did you need to tell me, Baby?" he asked Jack, who was still sitting on his lap.

She smiled, happy to see Rori smiling. "It's nothing that can't wait until later," she told him.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32:**

* * *

><p>A couple of hours later, Brent was gone, taking Elaine and Chase to school. He took Greg with him so that the house would be a little quieter. Riddick took this time to head upstairs and see about waking up Kayden.<p>

Looking into Greg's room, Riddick frowned at seeing the large cloth bandage wrapped neatly around his son's entire arm. Not wanting to upset Rori, as Jack said she had been the night before, Rididck had done his best to stay calm since arriving at Brent's house. As he stood looking at his son laying on the bed made of blankets on the floor, his heart began to pound faster. _He should be in his bed sleeping, not on the floor at the neighbors, _he thought. His eyes scanned over Kayden's arm once again, _And that shouldn't have to be there._

As if he had sensed his dad was there, Kayden slowly opened his eyes and focused on the doorway. "Dad?" he asked.

"I'm here, son," Riddick told him as he stepped into the room. He knelt next to Kayden's body and smiled. "I heard you got into a fight with a grizzly bear and won," he said with a small hand gesture towards Kayden's arm.

Kayden smiled and shook his head. "You heard wrong. It was actually two polar bears on a frozen planet not too far from here," he said while stretching.

Riddick chuckled and ruffled his son's hair, "How's the arm feeling?"

Lifting it up some, Kayden wiggled his fingers. "It's okay. It hurt in the middle of the night, but not right now," he mentioned as he sat up. "Where's Mom?"

Cocking his head towards the door, Riddick stood. "Her and Rori are downstairs waiting for us. Once you are ready, we are going to head back to our house," he said; he reached over and began to collect the couple of blankets that he knew belonged to his family. "Sheriff Chester is going to be over there in a little bit to talk to you. You think you are up for that?"

"Yeah. I remembered some of the owner tag number while I was sleeping, but that was all," he frowned a little, wishing he could remember more.

Riddick put their couple of blankets back into the basket Jack had brought over. "Don't be hard on yourself for not remembering more. From what your Mom said, everything happened quickly," Riddick reminded him.

Standing off to the side, Kayden watched his dad make a neat pile of the pillows and blankets they had borrowed from Marcy. "If you were there I bet you would remember everything," his voice was quiet.

Riddick sat down on Greg's bed and motioned for Kayden to join him. When they were both sitting, Riddick clasped his hands together and leaned his elbows on his spread knees. "I agree, if I would have been with you three I probably would remember a lot more than what you and your mom can. But you have to think about how long I've been able to use what I was given."

Kayden listened quietly.

"When I was your age and even a bit older, I had trouble focusing my thoughts and senses to what I wanted to remember. If there were too many sounds, sights and smells at the same time I couldn't tell you two things that happened at that moment. Now that I'm older and I trained myself, I can concentrate on one particular smell or sound and tell you multiple things about it," he looked at Kayden. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He nodded, but didn't say anything.

He knew that when Kayden took in new information he liked to think about it at first. So the quiet nod wasn't a surprise to him. "Your mom told me that you said she was changing. What makes you say that?"

"She smelled different," Kayden quickly said. "I didn't like it and with Rori crying and the different smell it was like my mind was being pulled in different directions." He looked up at Riddick. "I wasn't sure what to do."

Riddick smiled as he spoke, "You did the right thing by staying calm. Do you know why she smelled different?"

"I think it has something to do with her being scared. Rori was acting upset last night and Marcy asked mom if she was scared," he told him. "Mom said she was, so I think her smell changed because of how she was feeling."

Nodding, Riddick stood to get the basket so they could head downstairs. "What you thought is right. With Furyan in our blood, we can smell the changes in people's scents. When the time is right you will be able to learn how to distinguish between each scent and figure out how each person is feeling," he stated.

Kayden stood up and followed Riddick to the hallway. "At that time will I also be able to pick up on your scent when you and Rori are hiding from mom and I in the woods?" he asked; they loved to play hide and seek as a family, but he hated that his dad would sometimes cheat and sniff them out.

Riddick chuckled, "You are already picking up on the scent changes so I'm sure you will be able to learn how to track our scents fairly soon."

A short while later, as Kayden was finishing his breakfast at his family's kitchen table, Riddick was upstairs getting Rori dressed.

"Did you eat breakfast over at Marcy's house, Mom?" Kayden asked Jack.

Jack knew she should probably pick up the house a bit since the Sheriff was going to be there at any time, but she just didn't feel like it. "Your sister and I had some crackers with peanut butter very early this morning," she told him as she continued to sit at the table with him.

Kayden nodded, "Oh. That explains why you didn't eat much pancakes and sausage with us." He got up and carefully carried his plate with one hand to the sink that now had lots of dishes in it.

Shrugging, Jack didn't have the heart to tell him that the main reason she didn't eat was because her nerves were making it so she had no appetite. "Maybe once the Sheriff leaves I'll make us some cookies and I will eat those with you," she smiled.

With another nod, Kayden turned to see Riddick carrying Rori into the living room. "Look who I found upstairs!" Riddick said with a grin. "I found Princess Aurora, isn't she beautiful?"

Rori was in her light blue sundress and had her crown that Dr. Cork gave her on her head. "She is the most beautiful princess I've ever seen," she remarked, finally standing up. "Did the princess let her daddy brush her teeth?"

A huge grin was her answer from Rori.

Outside, Cole began to bark, making all four of them look towards the front of the house.

"I'm sure that's Sheriff Chester," Riddick said as he put Rori on her feet. Riddick looked at Jack, "How about we sit out on the porch while he's here?"

Jack stepped towards him and did her best to kiss his lips without tilting her head up too much; the pain this morning was worse than last night. "Good idea," she told him, even though she still wasn't thrilled about Riddick spending a lot of face to face time with any member of the law.

With his arm in the sling, Kayden opened the door and walked out onto the porch. He was followed by his sister then by his parents.

"Good morning," Sheriff Chester said as he came up the steps with a folder and note pad in his hand.

"Ood ownin'," Rori greeted him; she was already on her way to the end of the porch that had a chalk easel set up for her and Kayden to use.

The Sheriff smiled. "How are you all felling today?" he asked as he shook Riddick's hand.

Kayden sat down on the bench next to the door. "Like we were hit by a truck," his voice was serious, but he had a small smile on his face.

Jack agreed with him, "Aurora seems to be a little less clingy this morning, Kayden's arm started to hurt when the pain medicine woreoff and my neck feels like it was put in a vice." She sat next to Kayden.

Standing with his feet shoulder width apart, Riddick crossed his arms over his chest; his normal stance when he was serious. "I'm sure you can understand that I'm not too thrilled about what happened to my family," he said, his goggled eyes firmly planted on the Sheriff.

Sheriff Chester nodded. "I want you to know that I am not happy about this either. I've been the Sheriff of this town for many years and I've never had anything like this happen before," he licked his lips and looked from Riddick to Jack and back again. "My deputy and I are doing everything in our power to figure this out."

"I sure hope so," Riddick stated.

Kayden glanced at his Dad; it seemed as though his dad was changing like his Mom had the other night.

"Well, let's get down to business then. Besides what Kayden remembered, you said there was something you needed to show me, Mrs. Richards?" Chester asked, looking fully at Jack.

Standing up, Jack reached into her pants pocket and took out the folded note. "I forgot to show you this last night," she said as she sat back down. "When we came out of the book store, this was tucked under the windshield wipper blade."

Chester took the note and read it over. He looked back at Jack when he was finished, "I bet the person that ran you off the road was possibly watching you the entire time you were in town. You didn't notice anyone following you from one establishment to another last night, did you?"

Jack remembered not to shake her head, "No I didn't." She shrugged, "But then again I wasn't really paying attention to the people around us." She slowly looked up at Riddick who was watching Rori scribble on her chalk board; she knew he had been a little upset with her when he found out she hadn't been as careful as she had promised him.

"Okay, I'll keep this as evidence. I'm sure a hand writing sample of any suspects will help us prove this was in fact a calculated attack," the Sheriff told them. "Anything else you forgot to tell me last night that you think would be helpful?"

Both Riddick and Jack looked at each other. Jack raised an eyebrow, silently questioning Riddick.

Riddick did his single nod gesture telling her to tell the Sheriff what she had found.

"Um," Jack started and looked at Chester. "I don't want to get in trouble for doing it. I know I shouldn't have and I promise I won't again, but," she stopped again and looked down at her hands.

Chester was confused, he looked at both Jack and Riddick. "What did you do, Mrs. Richards?"

With a sigh, Jack shrugged only to find that that hurt her neck a little as well. "Last night I kind of hacked into Mr. Camp's work computer," she told him.

Now the Sheriff wasn't confused, he was stunned that not only did she hack into someone's computer, but that she was also confessing to it. "You do know that that is a crime, right Mrs. Richards?"

Jack sighed, but looked up at him. "Yes and I'm willing to take responsibility for what I did, but I think you might be interested in what I found," she told him honestly.

"And what did you find?" he asked; he quickly glanced at Rori as she walked over to them.

Kneeling down, Riddick took the crown from Rori's hands and placed it back onto her head. The little girl leaned up to give her Daddy a thank you kiss before returning to her chalk drawing.

"Remember how we told you Mr. Camp had been asking my employee, Brent Overly, a bunch of questions about me?"

Sheriff Chester nodded.

"Seems he doesn't clear his search history and she found every single one of the searches he preformed about my family and I," Riddick told him as he took his normal stance back.

"That backs up our thoughts on him trying to dig up dirt to get us when we simply didn't accept his apology for saying the rude things he did about our son," Jack said. "Does that give you cause enough to at least talk to him about where he was last night and to look at his truck?"

The Sheriff put out his hand that he had been writing with. "Now let's just take this one step at a time. I'm not even going to mention to anyone that you did some hacking of Mr. Camp's computer, but did you by chance save copies of what you found so that I could take a look at them?" When Jack told him yes, he smiled. "Good, I would like to take a look at those at some point before I leave here," he told her.

Kayden looked up at the Sheriff as the man stood in front of him. "You didn't really answer my Mom's question, Sheriff Chester," Kayden mentioned quietly. "According to The Urizane Law Book, probable cause refers to facts or evidence that would make a reasonable person, such as yourself, believe that a crime or wrong doing has been, is being, or will be committed," he trailed off.

Sheriff Chester was always amazed at what the young man would say when he spoke, "Go on."

Kayden looked at his Dad, who nodded for him to continue like Chester told him to. "One way to get probable cause is through information such as statements provided by witnesses and victims, such as us and Brent. The note my Mom gave you can make one assume it was Mr. Camp, because he was one of the few people who knew that my sister was lost the other day. Now my Mom says that he was looking for information about my Dad and her. What normal person would do that if they weren't looking to cause problems?"

Jack and Riddick stopped watching Kayden and looked at Chester instead. "I believe a normal person wouldn't do that, but a person who has something to prove might," he remarked to Kayden. "Before I get a copy of what was found in Mr. Camp's computer I would like to talk to you, Kayden, about what you remembered overnight."

Blinking a couple of times, Kayden nodded, "Okay. I remembered part of the owner tag number. It started with a fifteen and I know that it had a 'M' next to it."

Nodding at him, Chester looked at the notes he took when Jack had called him earlier; he wanted to make sure that what she had told him and what Kayden said matched, "What made you remember the fifteen and the 'M'?"

Kayden tilted his head for a moment, "Fifteen is how old I have to be to drive my Dad's truck and Mom says I have to be older than that." He shrugged.

Both Jack and Chester looked at each other. Jack shrugged too, "It's how he remembers things; links it to other information that he already knows. Fifteen to drive and the 'M' stands for me."

"That's a really smart way to remember things," the Sheriff chuckled. He opened his folder and handed Kayden a sheet of paper that had five owner tag numbers that not only matched the partial tag that Kayden remembered, but they belonged to trucks that coincided with the truck details that Kayden spoke about last night; all five trucks were registered within one hundred miles of the Richards' home. "I would like you to look at that list and see if any certain tag number stands out to you."

Kayden nodded and looked over the list.

After almost a minute of looking Chester spoke, "Do you recognize any of the tag numbers?"

"Yes," Kayden told him. "15M98C03 is the right one." He handed the paper back to the Sheriff.

"And where do you recognize that number from?" Sheriff Chester asked.

The young man slightly adjusted the sling straps before he answered, "15M98C03 is the tag number of the truck that hit us last night."

Riddick had his arms crossed over his chest again, "Who's tag number is that, Sheriff?"

Chester looked at Riddick after he put the piece of paper back into his folder. "I shouldn't tell you this, but it belongs to Matt Camp," he stated.

Riddick shook his head. "I knew it. You can't tell me he doesn't have it out for my family," Riddick said, trying to stay calm for the sake of his family.

Rolling her eyes, Jack sighed, "I'm sure he will have some excuse as to why Kayden was wrong when it came to the tag number."

"Actually, before I left the station to come here I got a call from Mr. Camp. He wanted to report that his truck was stolen at some point early last night," Chester informed them.

Jack laid a hand on her stomach as she tried to keep the sudden wave of nausea at bay. "What a coincidence. The first time a vehicle is ever stolen around here and it just happened to be on the same night that another crime was committed," she said. Quickly standing up, Jack excused herself and ran into the house with her hand over her mouth.

Riddick watched her head down the hallway through the screen door. "Kayden, why don't you take Rori inside and see if you can find some cartoons to watch?"

Kayden knew his dad was wanted to be alone with the Sheriff, so he didn't try to get out of doing what he was told.

When Kayden and Rori were inside with Cole, Riddick shut the main door so the kids wouldn't hear them. "I don't want to tell you how to do your job, Sheriff, but something needs to be done with that man. And it needs to be done now," Riddick stated.

Nodding his head, Chester put his pen into his uniform shirt pocket. "I know," he replied.

Riddick shook his head, "I don't think you do. You see, I'm not willing to pack my family up and move because some jerk has it out for me. Which also means I refuse to sit idle while he plots what he's going to do the next time I'm out of town. Do you get what I'm saying?"

He stood silent for a moment has he watched Riddick's face. "If I get what I need it will be over with in a couple of days," the Sheriff said.

**"**And if it's not?" Riddick questioned.

Chester could see tell that Robbie meant business. "As I said, Mr. Richards, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure your family is safe. You just have to give me some time to do things by the book," he paused. "Don't need things to get more out of hand than they already are."

* * *

><p>"About time you got here, Chester," Matt Camp said when he stepped out of his house. His hunting dogs that were tied up near the side of the house barked loudly letting their owners know someone was there.<p>

Chester put his hat on before he shut his patrol car's door. "Sorry about the delay, but I believe what happened to Mrs. Richards and her children takes first priority," he told Mr. Camp.

Matt frowned as he stopped in front of the Sheriff, "Oh, of course. How are they doing?"

"Could be better. The Mrs. has a badly hurt neck, the son has a hurt arm and thankfully the little girl was unhurt," he informed his long time acquaintance.

Shaking his head, Matt frowned some more. The normal wrinkles in his forehead seemed to be greater in number this morning. "So sorry to hear that. Did they get a glimpse of the person that did it?" he asked.

"Not of the driver, but they did remember a lot about the truck though," he said, wanting to see how Mr. Camp would react. "So you say your truck was stolen last night?"

"That's right," Matt said as he pointed to where his truck would normally be parked. "Took my wife to the store before supper time and this morning I go to get in it to head to work, but it wasn't here."

Chester wrote the information down. "Did you hear anything unusual after you went to bed?"

Matt shook his head again, "Nope, not a thing."

The Sheriff used his pen to point to the dogs that were now quiet, "They didn't alert you to people in your yard?"

Turning slightly, Mr. Camp looked over to his dogs. "That's the funny thing," he said and turned back to look at him. "They didn't make a peep. I do think whoever stole my truck used a bribe to silence them though."

"A bribe?" Sheriff Chester questioned.

"That's right. I found each one of the dogs had a big ol' steak bone near them today. I'm thinking they got a treat last night and were busy with those while the people were at work stealing my truck," he told him. "Wanna see the bones?"

Chester shook his head, "No, I don't think that will be necessary, Matt." He jotted some stuff down on his little note pad. "What about foot prints or tire marks? After all it did rain last night. So if there were fresh tire tracks or foot prints this morning, we know that it happened after about four when it stopped raining."

Matt was quick to shake his head again, "I didn't see anything like that. The rain must have washed that stuff away."

"Well, me and my deputy will drive around to see if we can spot your truck abandoned anywhere. Maybe some teenagers from town wanted to take it for a little joy ride," Sheriff Chester said. "I do need to ask you a couple of other questions though."

"Okay, what are they?" Matt asked.

Chester looked his friend in the eyes, "Where were you at about seven o'clock last night, Matt?"

The other man's mouth fell open, "You're not...You don't think I had anything to do with what happened to Mrs. Richards, do you?"

Chester shrugged, "I'm just doing my job."

"Oh, come on, Chester. You know me better than that, I couldn't hurt anyone," he said.

"I just have to ask, Matt. Don't take offense to it or anything," The Sheriff said. "But, where were you?"

Matt ran a hand over his short hair, "Well we had a late supper because my wife wasn't feeling the greatest. And after that she went to bed while the boy and I played a couple of card games."

Chester wrote that down, "Thank you for answering. I'll give you a call if we find your truck."

* * *

><p>Over at Riddick's house, Jack was laying on her bed listening to Kayden and Rori playing in Rori's room.<p>

Riddick came into the bedroom with a glass of juice and some toast for Jack. "Here, I made you some toast while I was getting your juice," he told her, placing the juice and plate on the bedside table.

"Thanks, but I'm not really hungry," she said.

He sat down on the bed next to where she was laying. "You didn't eat much at breakfast and what you did eat came back up. Don't need you getting really sick on me, Jack," he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Jack sighed and closed her eyes, after all these years she still loved when he would lay light kisses on her face and body.

"Like I told you this morning, baby, there's no need to be scared any more. I'm here and he isn't going to do anything else to you three," he whispered as he sat up to look at her.

"But I am scared, Riddick," she said quietly, not wanting the kids to hear.

He nodded, "I know, I can't even smell your strawberry shampoo, because your fear scent is too strong."

Jack knew she shouldn't laugh at that, but the way he said it with a little pout made her smile. "Fine, I'm not scared because of him anymore. I know you will protect us now, but I am scared because," she stopped and listened to Rori yelling as she ran into the room.

"Mama, Wowi peepee!" Rori yelled out while already heading into the very dark bathroom.

"Hold that thought," Riddick told Jack as he got up to go help Rori.

Jack sighed and looked up at the ceiling, "Maybe the third try will be a charm."

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33:**

* * *

><p>After talking to Mr. Camp, Sheriff Chester headed back to the station to have a chat with his Deputy.<p>

"I have the pictures of Mrs. Richards' truck, Chet," Deputy Thomas said when the Sheriff walked in.

Chester nodded and hung his uniform hat on the coat rack by the door. "Good. Did it look like there was a different paint color mixed in with the normal color?" he asked, going over to pour himself some coffee.

Thomas brought up the pictures on his computer and zoomed in on one. "To me this looks as though there is some white paint, and Mrs. Richards' truck is dark blue," he turned his screen for the Sheriff to see.

Looking at the pictures, Chester sighed. "Her son picked out the owner tag number he remembered. I'll give you one guess who it belongs to," he said.

Thinking for a moment, Thomas shrugged, "Someone that has a white truck?"

The Sheriff nodded, "Yup. Not only does he drive a white truck, but he reported it stolen this morning."

"But that was Matt Camp that made that report," he stopped as if finally dawned on him what Chester was getting at. "Do you think Matt did this?"

Sitting on the edge of his desk, Chester shrugged. "He honestly didn't sound too convinced of the story he was telling me," he said. "The Richards' son made some good points." He took out the note that had been found on Jack's truck. "They found this on their truck last night when they were over in Springers."

Thomas took the note and read it.

"And that's not all, Mrs. Richards' did some digging of her own and gave me copies of what she found on Matt's computer," he handed those to his Deputy as well.

"You mean she hacked his computer? Or did she break into his office?" he asked.

Chester waved him off. "That's not the point," he told him. "The point is that Matt was trying to do some major snooping into both her and her husband's pasts."

He thought about that for a brief moment. "Why would he do that?"

"Ah!" the Sheriff said. "That's what I want to figure out. See, I knew you would catch on."

"Do you really think Matt is responsible for what happened?"

Chester stood from where he was leaning. "Hopefully we will know when and if we find his truck," he said as he walked over to his hat. "Let's head out and see if we can locate his truck."

* * *

><p>About forty minutes after starting their search, Deputy Thomas used his car radio to let the Sheriff know he had found Matt Camp's truck abandoned on Orchard Road.<p>

Chester headed over there and, getting out of his car, Chester walked to where Thomas was standing.

"Windows are busted out, looks like the radio is gone and the passenger's side is missing some paint where it's smashed in," Thomas told him.

"Looks like the windows were smashed once it was parked," the Sheriff remarked, noticing the broken glass on the road. He used his flashlight to look inside the front of the truck through the broken window. "Broken from the inside out," he said; shutting his light off and looking at how far the glass fragments went away from the truck.

The Deputy scratched his head as he looked at it too. "Okay. Let's pretend for a moment that Matt Camp was the cause of what happened last night. Do you think he would break his windows and take the radio?" he asked.

Chester was slowly walking around the truck. "He would if he wanted to make it look like someone stole his truck. Let's think about it, he said his dogs didn't alert him to people on his property. Even if someone had given the dogs treats to silence them, they would still have barked as the people were coming towards them."

Thomas nodded and snapped a picture of the glass on the road.

"We've been to his house a lot and even when someone the dogs know walked in their sight, they bark," Sheriff Chester stated. "So whether it was someone the dogs knew or not, they would have let it be known. So the question is, why didn't Matt hear the dogs if it was really someone else who took the truck?"

"Umm," the Deputy thought. "We both know he likes to drink, maybe he was drinking heavily last night and passed out."

Chester shrugged, "He said he asked his son this morning if he heard or saw anything, but the boy said he hadn't." Chester gestured towards the front of the truck that was smashed in some. "Make sure you get close ups of this."

"Could it be that maybe someone did steal the truck and took it for a joy ride?" Thomas asked.

The Sheriff raised an eyebrow in his direction, "In this town? Really, Thomas?"

Thomas shrugged, before bringing the camera back up to his eye so he could take another picture. "I know we don't usually have crime around here, but I guess there's always a first for everything. Right?" he questioned.

It was Chester's turn to shrug again, "Maybe."

* * *

><p>Jack managed to get Rori to sleep without too much hassle. Kayden was going back to school the next day so Riddick put him to bed after looking at Kayden's body scans together.<strong><br>****  
><strong>A bit later, when Jack came out of the shower in just her towel, she stopped to watch Riddick lace up his boots, "Going somewhere?"

He nodded, but didn't look up. "Going to check out Matt Camp," he stated.

"Check him out or take him out?" she questioned while pulling open a dresser drawer to find a nightgown.

Riddick stood up and moved over to his own dresser. He removed the two shivs from the top of it and slid them into the back of his pants. "I'm not even going to talk to him," he told her.

She dropped the towel before slipping her nightgown on. "Like that really answered my question," Jack said. "I don't want you going over there. Just let the Sheriff take care of this."

With a sigh, Riddick looked at her, "We've tried letting him take care of it, Jack. Have you not noticed how that hasn't worked?"

Jack really wasn't liking the tone he was taking with her, but she knew if she got upset too,then that would make things worse. "So by you possibly getting in trouble," she paused and put her hands dramatically in the air. "Because we both know what will happen by you going to his place." She put her hands down and finished, "That's going to help you, me and the kids out?"

Riddick ran his hands over his face several times as he thought. "What if he runs you three off the road next time and you hit a tree or flip the truck?" He looked at her; his eyes pleaded with her in the low light. "You know what we found out about him. Clearly the man's still crazy."

"And that is even more reason for you to let the authorities take care of him," she tried to smile sweetly at him. "Please, Riddick, I've missed you and I want to relax for a while with you before I fall asleep."

He wanted to just give in to her and forget about going to Camp's house, but in the back of his mind he knew he needed to go there. "What will I do if you three are taken from me?" he finally asked in a quiet voice.

Closing the distance between them, Jack placed her hands on his chest. "If something happens to Matt, who do you think Chester will assume did it?" she asked in a matching tone.

"Me," he replied, putting his hands over hers.

"Exactly. So what will we do if you are taken from us? I don't know if I can handle raising three active, smart, Richard B. Riddick look a likes," she told him, finally letting him in on what she had been trying to talk to him about all day.

He stood there for a moment before he answered her, "If I'm not here, how you going to get a third Riddick look a like?"

Jack wet her lips and moved one of his hands to her stomach, "I was told at the clinic that I already have a third one coming."

Shaking his head, Riddick wasn't sure how that was possible. "You're," he stopped in mid thought. "No, you can't be, Jack."

"But I am. The doctor showed me on the body scan," she said with a smile. "Granted, I'm only just a little over two weeks along, but it's definitely a baby."

Riddick still couldn't wrap his head around what she was telling him. "How can you be pregnant though? I mean, I'm usually the first to know you are with child, Jack. And I haven't noticed the change," he said, his hand never leaving her stomach and his eyes glued to where her hand was covering his.

"What did you mention earlier today?" she asked.

He had a blank look on his face; he was trying to concentrate on the different scents that her body was giving off. "Remind me," he stated; the fear scent was still so strong.

"You said my fear was strong enough to mask my shampoo. What if it's covering up the pregnancy scent too?" she questioned him.

Finally, Riddick removed his hand from her stomach and brought her to him for a hug. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair as he hugged her. Now that he had actually deciphered the clues her body was sending out, he managed to catch the most important scent, even though it was so minimal.

After everything that happened last night and today, Jack finally allowed herself to break down. She cried into his chest, "I can't do this alone, Riddick. I can't have you on the run and then go through another miscarriage alone."

He moved her back some so he could see her face, "That's not going to happen. I'm not going to do anything to him that will get me in trouble. And this pregnancy will be different than the one before Rori," he tried to tell her. "More little shined eyes staring up at us in the middle of the night and watching him or her take their first steps," he was trying to cheer her up, but it didn't seem to be working.

"I'm already so stressed out that I'm not sure if it will be and I just can't bring myself to think differently," she made him hug her again.

He now knew why her scent was filled with so much fear. "It's going to be okay," he whispered again; he said a silent promise not only to her, but to himself as well. Knowing how much the miscarriage before Rori had emotionally hurt Jack, he could understand how scared she was. "We will get this thing with Camp figured out so you can be less stressed."

"Do you promise not to hurt Camp?" she asked as she removed herself from his embrace to get some toilet paper for her nose.

Riddick watched her walk away from him and berated himself for not realizing she was pregnant sooner; after all the signs were there: dizziness, throwing up, loss of appetite one day and then pigging out the next. "I will try to keep that promise if you promise me that you will try to think positive and stay relaxed," he told her.

"I mean it, Riddick, I don't want to move our family to the cabin," she warned him.

Nodding his head, he needed to reason with her if he was still going to check Matt's house and property out. "I know you mean it, but I need to check his property out just to see what we are dealing with, Jack." He looked down at her stomach that was hidden behind her baggy nightgown. "I just need to figure out how to keep you, Kayden, Rori and," he paused briefly. "And our littlest one safe. That's all."

She sat down on the edge of the tub and sniffed her nose. "We are going to go around in circles until I agree to let you go, aren't we?"

Riddick nodded silently again.

Jack sighed and remained quiet as both of them stared at the other. "Fine, but if you make me a single mother I'm going to make myself a widow. Understand?" she pointed her finger at him while squinting her eyes.

Squatting in front of her, he grinned, "Remember what I told you when I got you from Imam's?"

"How could I forget since you remind me all the time," she said.

He raised an eyebrow as he continued to grin.

"You told me I'm stuck with you, but that doesn't mean I'm taking our kids on the run with you. So I want you to remember that as you go over there," Jack told him.

Kissing her lips, Riddick put a large hand on her stomach. "I won't be gone too long. When I come back, I expect you in our bed ready to cuddle."

Jack rolled her eyes and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "I love you, Riddick. Please don't be gone too long," she whispered.

With a nod, he leaned forward. Their kiss was as tender and loving as ever. "I love you too, Jack," he whispered back when their lips finally separated.

Helping her up, Riddick led her back to the bed and pulled the covers back so she could get under them.

"Hurry back," she told him as he made sure she was warm under the blankets.

"I will," he winked at her as he headed out of the room.

Four hours later Jack woke up to an empty bed. "Riddick," she called out quietly, thinking he might be in the bathroom.

When he didn't answer her, Jack slipped out of bed and headed for the hallway.

Rori's door was still partially shut like she had left it. Peeking inside, Jack smiled seeing Rori still covered up and hugging her baby doll.

Jack headed down the hallway and looked in on Kayden. Being his Father's child, the blankets were kicked down to the bottom of the bed and his pillow was on the floor.

She continued her walk down to the first floor. Seeing Cole sleeping on his bed in the living room made Jack frown. "Did he not come home yet?" she asked the dog.

Cole's tail wagged as he stood up and walked over to her.

Knowing she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep, Jack sat down in the chair and began to pet Cole when he got to her. "He better not being doing anything he promised not to," she whispered.

* * *

><p>It was well over five hours since he had left Jack alone at home with the kids. Riddick knew that Cole would protect them if anything happened and since he had been at Matt Camp's house, he knew that Camp hadn't done anything to his family.<p>

Pulling into the driveway, Riddick parked his truck in front of his house and walked up the steps.

When he looked at the front door, he silently questioned why Cole, the ever obedient guard dog, wasn't watching out the front window like he had always done in the past.

Riddick put his key in the lock so he could open the door. As soon as the door opened, he could see Jack sitting in the chair with Cole laying at her feet.

"Do you have any idea how long you've been gone?" Jack asked. "I woke up and you weren't back yet. How am I supposed to relax and not stress when my husband is gone all hours of the night?"

He nodded, "I know. I'm sorry, but in my defense I tried to hurry."

Standing up, she sighed. "Well, did you break your promise and do something to Mr. Camp?" she questioned while moving into the kitchen.

Shaking his head, Riddick followed her. "I kind of ran into someone else who was checking out Camp's property." He leaned his shoulder against the door frame.

"Who?" Jack asked, turning the faucet on to fill her glass with water.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>I know I've said thank you already, but thank you to those who have left me feedback. That makes me feel great. For those that have added this story to your favorites, thank you.<br>**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34:**

* * *

><p><em><strong>This chapter is rated MA for adult situations. If you are not 18 or do not care for sexual acts of Riddick goodness, then please skip this chapter and come back for chapter 35.<strong>_

* * *

><p>It had been well over five hours since he had left Jack alone at home with the kids. Riddick knew that Cole would protect them if anything happened and since he had been at Matt Camp's house, he knew that Camp hadn't done anything to his family.<p>

Pulling into the driveway, Riddick parked his truck in front of his house and walked up the steps.

When he looked at the front door, he silently questioned why Cole, the ever obedient guard dog, wasn't watching out the front window like he had always done in the past.

Riddick put his key in the lock so he could open the door. As soon as the door opened, he could see Jack sitting in the chair with Cole laying at her feet.

"Do you have any idea how long you've been gone?" Jack asked. "I woke up and you weren't back yet. How am I supposed to relax and not stress when my husband is gone all hours of the night?"

He nodded, "I know. I'm sorry, but in my defense, I tried to hurry."

Standing up, she sighed. "Well, did you break your promise and do something to Mr. Camp?" she questioned while moving into the kitchen.

Shaking his head, Riddick followed her. "I kind of ran into someone else who was checking out Camp's property." He leaned his shoulder against the door frame.

"Who?" Jack asked, turning the faucet on to fill her glass with water.

"The Sheriff."

Jack's eyes got wide as the glass almost slipped out of her hand and into the sink, "Did he see you?"

Riddick nodded, crossing his arms over his chest, "Sure did."

She waited for him to continue, to say anything else, but he didn't. "Well? What did he say or do?"

"You're not going to ask me if I found anything or if I'm okay?" he asked, pretending to be shocked.

With a warning glare, she took a sip from her water.

He winked at her before his face went solid again, "Fine, I'll tell you what happened."

_Riddick parked his truck several roads away from Mr. Camp's house. Stepping out of the truck, he slid his goggles to his forehead. Quietly, he went into the very dark woods that would lead him eventually to Camp's property._

_As he continued to walk, all his senses were in high gear. He thought back to his running days and about how many nights his senses had__kept him alive._**  
><strong>**  
><strong>_"_Camp's not a merc," _he thought. _"But he sure is acting like one."

_Up ahead he spotted dim lights coming from a house; the lights seemed bright compared to the moonless night. He kept going, his ears, nose and eyes trained to pick up the slightest change around him. Squatting behind some cut down logs, Riddick observed the stillness around Camp's house. The dogs, at least three, were sleeping in their coops with just their heads sticking out._

_His attention was taken from the dogs as movement started on the first level of the house. Through the window, Riddick could see Camp walking from the living room to the kitchen and back again. After a few moments, the front door opened and Camp stepped out._

_From his spot in the woods, Riddick didn't have a clear view of what Mr. Camp was carrying in his hands. He continued to watch while the dogs started to bark at their owner as he walked around the side of the house._

_Mr. Camp stopped in his tracks. "Stop barking," he commanded and started walking again._

_The dogs did as they were told before they went back to laying in their coops._

_Quietly, Riddick made his way through the dark woods; he needed to keep an eye on what Camp was up to. When he finally made it to the back of the house, he observed the other man setting the metal object on the ground next to the burn barrel._

"What are you doing now, Camp?" _Riddick thought, while a bag of garbage was put inside the burn barrel. A cup of liquid was poured inside and lit. _"Gas," _he thought as a soft whooshing sound was heard and flames shot up._

_The metal object with what appeared to be wires hanging off it was thrown into the barrel before another bag of garbage was placed on top._

_With a shake of his head, Riddick figured out what Mr. Camp was up to: trying to get rid of evidence; although that was a stupid way of trying to get rid of something metal._

_Suddenly, Riddick caught the sound of a small twig snapping way off to his left. His head turned and his eyes focused on the person trying to sneak through the woods. Slowly, Riddick crept a few yards deeper into the woods. He knelt behind a cluster of small pine trees, so he could watch the new person and Mr. Camp._

_Orange light danced across Camp's body as he reached into his coat pocket. Pulling out what appeared to be a small flask, he took the top off and the container was held towards the fire; it was as if he was making a toast to the work of the flames._

_Riddick glanced over to the new guy as he started to move closer again. It wasn't until then that Riddick noticed the sheriff badge hooked to his waist of his pants. Inhaling deeply, Riddick picked up Chester's scent._

_He made sure he was fully in the shadows of the trees, because he knew if he was found here by the Sheriff, it might not turn out so well._**  
><strong>**  
><strong>_"Why you burning so late at night," Sheriff Chester whispered quietly; he was squatting with his whole body facing Mr. Camp._

_Raising an eyebrow, Riddick couldn't help but smirk. _"Should have gotten here a few minutes earlier, Chester," _he thought before his attention went back to Camp._

_Matt Camp was taking swigs from his flask while he watched the fire burn. Riddick wondered if Camp really thought the Sheriff wouldn't be smart enough to look in the burn barrel when the time came to say Mr. Camp was a suspect in what happened._

_Both Riddick and Chester watched Camp continue to drink for almost another twenty minutes._

_Out of nowhere, Riddick heard some movement over to his right. His first thought was that Chester's Deputy was out watching Camp tonight too, but when Riddick looked over, his eyes got wide at the creature that was slowly making its way towards him and the Sheriff._

"Stay still, Sheriff," _Riddick silently warned as the skunk slowly waddled its way closer to both of them._

_He could smell the rotten scent coming off the skunk and knew it had sprayed not too long ago. From the way Sheriff Chester's head turned to stare in the direction of the animal, Riddick figured he now knew the skunk was there too._

_Riddick could sense the panic rising in Chester and he didn't blame the man for being nervous. After all, skunk smell was a bitch to get out of your clothes and off your skin._

_The skunk carefully turned around, like it was preparing to spray the Sheriff. Riddick knew it wasn't going to end well and just hoped Chester didn't make a run for it, letting the intoxicated Camp know they were there._

_Chester slowly stood from his squatting position and held his hands out in front of him while backing up._

_Riddick saw the small log behind Chester, just as the man caught his foot on it and went flying onto his back._

_When he hit the ground, Riddick noticed Camp turn his head towards their direction._

_In an instant, Riddick was next to the Sheriff and had a hand over his mouth. "Don't make a sound," he hissed, hoping the Sheriff would recognize his voice._

_When the hand clamped over his mouth, the Sheriff's hand immediately went to where his gun holster normally was. When he found that he wasn't carrying his gun, his eyes became the size of tea cup saucers._

_"Don't ruin our cover," Riddick hissed again before lifting his hand from the other man's mouth and watched Mr. Camp as he went back to drinking by his burning garbage. _"So much for not letting Chester know I was here," _he thought, shaking his head. _"Jack's going to kick my ass when I tell her she was right: I should have stayed home."**  
><strong>**  
><strong>_Thankfully, the skunk had just been turning around to go back the way he had came. After Riddick was sure that Camp wasn't going to check out the noise that the Sheriff had made, Riddick helped Chester to sit up._

_"What are you doing here?" Chester whispered very quietly._

_Shrugging in the darkness, Riddick replied, "Funny. I was going to ask you the same thing."_

_"I'm here on police business," the Sheriff said._

_Riddick shook his head, "Getting us caught isn't a smart way to conduct business, Sheriff."_

_After a moment of Chester just looking at Riddick, a smirk appeared on his face. "Yeah, I know. Wasn't expecting to have a small visitor try to join me," he whispered. He watched as Camp put the top back onto his flask and shove it in his pocket. "So what are you really doing here, Mr. Richards?"_

_Quietly, Riddick adjusted the way he was kneeling. "I came to see if I could find some dirt on Mr. Camp. Gotta keep my family safe," he mumbled, not taking his eyes off Camp._

_The Sheriff nodded, "And did you find anything?"_

_There was a brief pause before Riddick spoke again, "Didn't you say the radio was stolen from Camp's truck?"_

_Chester nodded again._

_"Think I found it," he said and pointed to the burn barrel._

_Looking over to the dying down fire, Chester thought about that. "You mean to tell me he threw the radio in there?" With a shake of his head, Chester spoke again, "I figured as much."_

_Riddick looked at him, but said nothing._

_The Sheriff continued to stare at the fire and the house. "You can see in the dark, right?" he asked Riddick._

_"Yeah," was all that Riddick said._

_"Can you see if Matt went inside the house?" he questioned._

_Riddick nodded._

_The Sheriff looked in Riddick's direction, "Can you?"_

_Forgetting that it was dark out and Chester couldn't see all that well, Riddick verbally responded this time, "Yeah, he went back in."_

_"Good, come on," Chester stated._**  
><strong>**  
><strong>_Riddick looked at him briefly before speaking in his usual deep voice, "Go where?"_

_Standing up, the Sheriff pointed to the burn barrel. "I need your help seeing if there is any part of the radio left," he told Riddick._

_Riddick stood too, "You're the Sheriff, I think you are on your own with this one."_

_"If I turn on my flash light, Matt is more likely to see me. Don't you think if he saw me that any other evidence he has will be destroyed as well?" Chester said in a high pitched whisper._

_There was a silence between them as they stood feet apart._

_"I don't normally help people of the law," Riddick stated._

_Riddick watched Chester nod, "So I've read."_

_Raising an eyebrow, Riddick wasn't too sure what that statement meant; _"If he knew who I really was, he wouldn't be so nice to me and my family...right?" _When Riddick didn't say anything, the Sheriff spoke again._

_"Think of it as helping your family out. After all, I'm assuming that's why you came here tonight, wasn't it?" Chester asked._

_"When you find a part of the radio, can you then arrest him?" Riddick wanted to make sure they were on the same page._

_The Sheriff smiled, "Between what your wife found on Matt's computer and him burning a radio, I believe I will have enough evidence to bring him in for questioning."_

_With an audible sigh, Riddick moved forward. "Watch your step," he said, reminding Chester of the log he had tripped on._

_Chest chuckled quietly, "Could have warned me of that before I landed on my ass."_

_"You were making enough noise for the both of us. There was no need for me to add to it," Riddick mumbled as they both stepped out of the woods._

"Did you find the radio in the barrel?" Jack asked; she was now sitting on Riddick's lap at the kitchen table.

Riddick's hand was gently caressing her upper leg that was exposed under her night shirt. "We found the metal parts of it, but it didn't even look like a radio after being in there for so long," he told her.

Jack frowned, "So Sheriff Chester can't arrest Camp then?"

"You can't arrest someone legally without proper evidence," he said. He watched her face become sad again, "He really wants to arrest him though, Jack. Without solid evidence, Chester could be sued and lose his title of Sheriff."**  
><strong>**  
><strong>Nodding, she laid her head against his shoulder. "I just want this to go away," she said.

"I know, baby, and it will...Soon," Riddick wanted to promise her, but he honestly wasn't sure if he could. "Let's get you upstairs and into bed." _That damn fear scent is starting again, _he thought. _Need to get her mind off Camp._

Jack shook her head, "I'm not tired."

Smirking, he took the opportunity to gently kiss her neck, "I said nothing about sleep, Jack."

She whispered against his shoulder, "How can you think of sex at a time like this?"

"Should know me by now, baby. I think of sex pretty much all the time," he said as he ran his hand along her leg again. "Especially when you wear your thin strapped night gowns."

"I don't know, Riddick," she mentioned as she lifted her head from his shoulder. "Not sure if I feel up to sleeping or sex."

Riddick shook his head, put his arm under her legs and lifted her up as he stood. "None of that crazy talk, I'll make you want it," he said, knowing he could do that well.

"Riddick?" she questioned quietly against his throat. "What was it like working so closely with the Sheriff?"

He thought about her question while he carried her up the stairs. "Weird," he told her. _Not going to tell her about his odd remark about reading that I don't work well with law enforcement._

"How was it weird?" she asked.

Gently kicking the bedroom door shut, Riddick laid her on the bed. Smiling at her, he went back to lock the door. "I hate people with authority, baby," he told her with a straight face; he was slipping his shirt over his head.

Jack watched him from the middle of the bed. "I have authority over you, does that mean you hate me?" she asked with a pretend pout.

"You're sexy as hell when you pout, Jack," he said. "Your authority I love, it's others that piss me off." He made quick work at taking his boots off.

She still wasn't sure if she was in the mood for sex, but the look on his face and the way his body looked was making it hard not to want him.

By the time he had his boots off, Jack didn't want to think anymore. She sat up and was about to take her nightgown off when Riddick stopped her.

"No, baby," he said. "You relax and let me do everything."

Jack watched as he pushed his pants down, allowing his hardening cock to seek freedom.**  
><strong>**  
><strong>She licked her lips and tilted her head up a bit to see him while he climbed onto the bed. "There you go again trying to gain more power over me," she finally smiled at him.

"Hush," he told her right before he kissed her smooth ankle. "Just lay there with a smile on your face and let me take your worries away," he mumbled against her lower leg.

Doing as she was told, she propped herself up on her elbows and concentrated on the feel of his breath, lips and chin stubble against her legs.

His hands roamed up her legs, blazing trails for his lips to follow. "Still not feeling up for sex, baby?" he asked, already smelling her arousal as he neared her honey pot.

Jack raised a challenging eyebrow at him, but said nothing as she smiled.

Gently, Riddick pushed her legs farther apart. "Can I taste you, Jack?" he whispered, his eyes flashing up to meet hers for a brief moment.

She nodded; her lips were parted slightly and her tongue darted out to wet them.

He spread her lower lips before he leaned his head down, placing a gentle kiss on her clit. When the sensual kiss was over, his own tongue snaked out to flick her special bud. The moan from his Jack told him she was officially in the mood for a round of sex.

Dropping her head back, Jack couldn't believe how easily he could get her wanting him. Her mind went blank as he continued to expertly work her clit while he slipped two digits into her wet tunnel.

"Lay all the way back and just relax," he stated quietly before going back to the task in front of him.

Jack once again did as she was told, she purposely bent her legs and placed her feet flat on the bed. "Hush," she stated and tilted her hips up a bit, wanting him to keep doing what he was doing.

Picking up the pace, Riddick pumped his fingers in and out of her. His tongue and lips worshiped her clit as if they were never going to be able to touch it again. A jolt of pleasure washed over him as he already felt that familiar twitch starting within Jack's hot cave; that was his cue to wrap his lips around her exposed bud and suck gently while he curled his fingers up against her special inner spot.

As if on command, Jack's hands grabbed fists full of blanket. At the same time her body tensed up and her pussy began to convulse around his fingers. "Oh God, Riddick," she moaned loudly.

When he felt as though she had rode the ecstasy wave completely, Riddick removed his fingers from her pussy and moved to his knees. "You are so hot when you cum for me, Jack," he told her with a huge grin plastered on his face.

Just as he was about to bring his wet fingers to his mouth, Jack reached up and wrapped her hand around his wrist. "Let me," she whispered while she slipped his fingers into her own mouth.

Riddick groaned when she pushed his fingers in and out her mouth a couple of times; he loved how her mouth felt when any part of his body was inside of it. Licking his lips he closed his eyes when her tongue slipped between his fingers and out again. "Your mouth is Heaven," he smirked and groaned again when she sucked one last time.

Removing his fingers from her mouth, she kissed the tip of each one before she looked down at his raging erection. "Let me return the favor," Jack stated, already mentally tasting the bead of precum that was trying to escape the tip.

Shaking his head, Riddick leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was soft like his words, "You don't have to."

"But I want to," she said as her slim fingers gently gripped his shaft and pumped it a couple of times.

His hips flexed slightly, "Fuck." It only took one glance at Jack biting her lower lip for him to agree. "Okay."

She smiled and sat up. Cupping his face Jack kissed his lips. "I love you," she mumbled right as she nudged him to get him to sit back against the headboard.

It made him smirk as he thought about the control she did have over him. Never in his life had he thought he would ever let a woman decide how he got off, but he kind of liked it only because it was his Jack.

As soon as Riddick was sitting, Jack laid on her side next to him. She lightly kissed his thigh before cupping his heavy balls. Rolling them in her hand made Riddick's head lean back like her's had. Smiling, she decided to bring him as much pleasure as he had her.

While he wasn't watching, Jack placed the tip of Riddick's cock in her mouth and ran her tongue over his slit. "Mm," she moaned.

A loud groan erupted from him; his hand came up and laid on her shoulder. "I'll do anything for you to never stop doing that," he growled playfully.

Jack's only response was to take as much of his erection into her mouth as she could. The part that she couldn't manage was covered with her hand while she began bobbing her head slowly.

Riddick's hand that had been on her shoulder moved her hair out of the way so he could watch her. "So hot," he moaned, never taking his eyes off the perfect picture happening on his lap.

She added a small twist in her wrist at every upstroke. Jack could feel his hips struggle to stay still when she would run her tongue over the underside of his cock. She could taste the precum as it oozed from within her husband; it was honestly one of her favorite tastes.

"Just a," he paused to grit his teeth. "Just a bit more, baby."

Jack wasn't sure if he was warning her or encouraging her, but either way she wasn't stopping. Smiling on the inside, she sped up her movements and added a bit more suction when she neared his purple mushroom crown.

"Fuck yeah," he groaned. "That's it."**  
><strong>**  
><strong>One last groan was Jack's warning before his cock twitched and cum erupted into her mouth. She stopped bobbing her head, but worked the rest of the white cream out of his shaft with her hand. Swallowing it all, she could hear Riddick's ragged breathing. "Mm," she smiled when she finally looked up at him.

He chuckled at her response and even though his head was still swimming with the wonderful feeling she created for him, Riddick slipped down on the bed so he could lay with her. "I love watching you do that, baby," he kissed her lips.

Jack deepened the kiss, letting their tongues mate gingerly.

Tasting himself in her mouth, made him smile as they pulled away, "I love you, Jack."

Putting her head on his chest, Jack yawned. "And I, you," she told him.

He could see how exhausted she was. "Sleep, baby," he kissed the top of her head, hoping that being in his protective arms would allow her to finally get some decent sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<br>**

**Sorry for the big delay, but real life needed my attention. Hopefully, I will be able to get back to posting once a week! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35:**

* * *

><p>The next morning Riddick took Rori with him as he drove Kayden to school. His plan was to keep Rori with him for a while, hoping Jack could get some much needed rest.<p>

When he got back from dropping Kayden at school, he pulled his truck up to the barn. He immediately growled at the sight before him.

On the side of the barn words were written in big bold letters:

**CHET CAN'T SAV YOU FORM ME**

Riddick shook his head and looked at Rori who was in her seat in the back of the truck. "Pretty sure you can spell better than that," he told her.

Nodding her head, Rori smiled. "Uh huh," she agreed with her daddy.

Not knowing what else the person had done to his barn, Riddick decided he didn't want Rori with him when he checked it out. He also wanted to call and report this to Chester.

Riddick started his truck and drove away from the barn.

"No, Dada," Rori protested. "Wowi tee hose."

"I know I promised you could see the horses, but daddy needs to make sure they aren't sick," he lied, hoping it would stop her from throwing a tantrum.

Rori looked at him as she thought about that. "Oh. Wowi toop Mama."

He chuckled, "Okay, you and mommy can make them some soup."

Walking into the house, they were met by the wonderful smell of toasted pecans.

"Mommy's baking a pie," he whispered down to Rori as she walked beside him.

Rori's smile grew bigger and she took off towards the kitchen.

"Thought you were in bed?" he questioned Jack.

Jack was in a pair of pants, a t-shirt and her hair was up in a messy bun. "I had a dream about a pecan tree that grew through the middle of the house," she smiled. "That made me want a pecan pie."

He moved over to his wife and kissed the back of her neck. Briefly, not wanting to stop her from baking, Riddick reached his hand around her side and placed it flat against her stomach.

Pulling herself up onto a chair, Rori then stood on it to see what was on the table. "Mama, hose toop," she stated.

"What?" Jack asked with a smile as she leaned back against Riddick. She turned her head and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

Moving away from her, Riddick leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. "I told her the horses are sick, because I need her to stay with you for a bit."

"Why?" Jack gave Rori a few chopped warm nuts to eat. "Are they really sick?"

He shook his head. "Don't know. I just don't want her at the barn in case the," he paused, glanced at Rori and decided to spell the word. "In case the b-a-s-t-a-r-d that spray painted the side of the barn did more."

Jack gasped, "I can't believe that." With a sigh she began to mix up the melted mixture to put into the pie tin. "Gee, I wonder who did that?" she asked sarcastically.

"I'm gonna call the Sheriff and have him come over," he told Jack. "Also going to point out my signs that say 'trespassers will be shot on sight."

Jack frowned, "You don't own a gun, Riddick."

"Sh, he doesn't need to know that," he said with a wink.

She watched him walk into the living room to call Sheriff Chester. "Oh, baby girl. What are we going to do?" she asked with a sigh.

Still chewing her warm pecans, Rori shook her head, "No no, Mama!"

* * *

><p>It was almost a half hour later when the Sheriff pulled up to Riddick's barn.<p>

Outside the barn, Riddick was standing with Cole next to him. "Lovely, isn't it?" Riddick asked, pointing to the words.

Chester put his hat on and walked over to them. "Chet can't sav you form me," he read what was written. "Either the person who did this isn't well educated or they were drunk."

"Or both," Riddick added.

Chester nodded, "I just don't know why there is a sudden fascination with you and your family."

Riddick shook his head. "I do. It's because I stood up for my son and the bastard didn't like it," he said.

Holding up a hand, Chester stopped him. "Now hold on, Mr. Richards. We don't know if this is connected to everything else."

"Give it a break, Sheriff," Riddick said, getting frustrated. "We both know who is doing it. So now what are you going to do to stop it?"

The Sheriff looked at the words on the barn again. "I'm trying, I really am," he said.

"Where I come from trying isn't shit compared to actually doing," Riddick stated. "This is the last straw. Either you take care of the problem or I will," he finally threatened.

That got Chester's attention. "Getting yourself in trouble again won't keep your family safe," he said.

Raising an eyebrow, Riddick stood a bit taller. "What do you mean by again?" he asked.

Chester tilted his head, something Riddick normally did. "What do you think I mean?"

They both stood silent as they stared at each other.

He couldn't see Riddick's eyes behind his goggles, but he could see his own reflection in them and he knew this might not end well. "I'm just saying that I want your wife and children to be safe," he told Riddick.

"That's the second subtle hint you've made at something so why don't you just come out and say it," Riddick strongly suggested.

The Sheriff shifted slightly on his feet. "I don't want any problems with you or for you, Mr. Richards. I've been the Sheriff here for many years and when I first got the job here, I held a town where I met your wife, but not you. You remember how I came here to introduce myself to you? I told you I wanted to meet everyone in my jurisdiction."

Riddick didn't move or say a word.

"I recognized you right away. Well, it took a few days for me to place a name with your face, but I knew," Chester said.

Riddick would confess that it took a lot to get him nervous, but what Chester was saying was making his skin crawl. "What do you mean, recognized me?" he asked, trying to play dumb.

Sheriff Chester shifted again like he was nervous. "Recognized you from wanted posters," he stated. "Before you died," he made quotation marks in the air when he said 'died.' "I used to study your face and criminal history hoping I could be the one to bring the most famous convicted murder and escapee in for the reward money."

Riddick's brain was going over the places he could dispose of the Sheriff's body. His fingers started itching, wanting to reach for his shiv on his back. "You found me, so now what?" he asked; his voice was ice cold and his body was rigid.

"I help you figure out how to stop your problem," Chester stated, nonchalantly.

A little taken back by the man's response, Riddick glared at him. "Why not help Camp get rid of his problem? I'm sure somewhere there's still reward money for me," he growled.

Cole stood up at the major change in his owner; he glared at the Sheriff with a look almost as menacing as Riddick's.

Taking a step back, Chester shook his head. "It's been over eight years since I've realized who you really were. Don't you think I would have turned you in by now? Trust me, I thought long and hard about turning you in all those years ago."

"Why didn't you?" Riddick asked, his nose almost twitched as he picked up on a scent from the Sheriff that he never smelled on him before: fear.

"Because, Mr. Richards, I have seen how you were with your then one year old son and wife. I don't think some cold hearted killer could be so wrapped around a little one's finger," he told Riddick.

"You could be completely wrong about me, Sheriff," Riddick mentioned as he crossed his arms over his chest to keep his hands off his shiv.

The Sheriff shrugged, "I could be, but I've got three good reasons why I think I'm right."

Riddick nodded once, but said nothing.

"Kids are a good judge of character, Mr. Richards. If you were still as bad as you once were, your kids and the neighbor kids wouldn't like you so much. And the second reason is that I've never had any trouble with you. Hell, until recently I didn't even think you knew how to talk," he smirked, trying to lighten the situation up some. "The last reason that tells me I'm right is the fact that Matt is still alive," he glanced down at Cole before looking back to Riddick.

_If he only knew how much I really wanted Camp dead, he wouldn't be so nice. _"So that's it? You aren't going to turn me in?" Riddick shook his head. "How do I know you won't turn around and do it anyways?"

Shrugging again, Chester walked over to the side of the barn to take a few pictures of the writing. "Because I value my life and my town more than any money they would give me. Besides, from what I've been told, your wife has great computer skills and would probably screw my life up."

Riddick nodded at that, "Would only take her about five minutes to make sure you were the most hated guy on every planet known to man."

There were several moments of silence between them. Cole had went back to sleeping near where Riddick stood.

"Ever check into Camp's past?" Riddick finally asked.

Chested stopped snapping pictures and looking on the ground for anything to help catch Matt Camp. "Yeah, didn't find anything other than a couple of Driving while Under the Influence cases."

Riddick heard Rori calling for Cole off in the distance.

_Must be outside with Jack; gotta keep the conversation off me so Jack doesn't worry,_ he thought as he swallowed. _This news would definitely stress her out more than anything else._

As he watched Cole head down the trail to go see his young owner, Riddick knew he should get busy with his work since Brent wouldn't be there that day to help out. "Might want to see about his sealed files from when he was seventeen," Riddick mentioned. "Might find it interesting." He looked into open barn door when the horses reminded him they still wanted out for the day.

Looking over at him, Chester nodded, "Anything I might be able to use to help your problem?"

"Wouldn't be telling you if I didn't think it would help my problem. But yes, the fact that he spent one hundred and forty days in lock up seems pretty good information to me," Riddick stated.

The Sheriff stared at him for a moment before he spoke quietly, "Maybe that's another reason for you to not do anything stupid."

Lifting an eyebrow in his direction, Riddick shook his head. "Guess all your studying of me didn't inform you that nothing I've done in my life was ever stupid. And don't think I'll start being that way now," he stated before he quickly disappeared into the barn, leaving Chester to think about that.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, the Sheriff pulled his patrol car into the lot of Camp's Wood Mill. As he got out of his truck, he looked around to see if he could spot his long time acquaintance, Matt Camp.<p>

Not seeing him anywhere outside with some of the other workers, Chester headed into the small building that housed Matt's office.

"Good afternoon, Sheriff," the secretary greeted him.

"Good afternoon, Ma'am," he replied. "Is Matt here today?"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. He's out sick again," she told him.

Nodding, he turned to leave, "I'll see if I can catch him at home." He stopped as he reached for the door handle. "Did he say what's wrong with him?"

The look on her face told him her real thoughts, but her words said otherwise. "He's got another bad migraine. I've told him before he should have it checked out; seems that a few times a week he comes in with one."

The Sheriff nodded again, "Headache, I see." He knew they both knew it was hangovers. He shook his head as he walked back out.

Pulling into Camp's driveway, the dogs were barking before he was even halfway up the drive. By the time he made it out of his patrol car, Matt was coming out of his house.

"Chet, what brings you here?" Matt asked as he stood on his porch in his boots, pants and undershirt; his suspenders help his pants up for his large stomach.

Chester stood at the bottom of the stairs leading to the porch. "I need you to come with me to have a talk," he said.

Looking at him, Matt didn't move, "About what?"

"About what has been happening to Mr. Richards and his family," he put his hand on the butt of his gun; he wanted Matt to know he meant business today.

"Am I under arrest, Chet?" Mr. Camp questioned.

Chester shook his head, but asked, "Should you be?"

A grin spread across Matt's face. "You're funny! Let me grab my shirt and tell my wife," he disappeared into the house and came right back out a few moments later.

Sheriff Chester made sure Matt got into the back seat of the patrol car.

The ride to the station was quiet. When they walked into the building, Matt held up his hands as if they were cuffed. "Seems I'm staying awhile, Thomas. Better make a fresh pot of coffee," he joked to the Deputy.

Chester sighed, "I told you, you aren't under arrest. I just need to ask you some questions."

"Interrogate me, huh?" Camp asked.

Opening the door to the only interrogation room, the Sheriff motioned Matt inside. "Not an interrogation, just want to see who I'm doing business with."

Camp gave him a dirty look before sitting down on one side of the square table.

"What's the matter, Matt? Don't like it when someone does to you what you do to them?" Chester asked with a smile.

"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" Matt questioned. "After all, I'm home sick from work today."

Deputy Thomas came in with two cups of coffee. Setting them on the table he left again, leaving the door open.

"We are friends, right, Matt?" Chester started with an easy question.

Matt nodded, "I thought so, but it seems to me a friend would know by now that I wouldn't do anything like what has been going on."

The Sheriff nodded. "Okay, fair enough," he said and took his seat across from him. "Would a friend try to help you with any problems you are having?"

"Probably, but since I have no problems, I don't need any help," he told Chester.

"I'm sad to say I think you do," he said. When Matt shook his head, Chester continued. "How's the hangover?"

Matt sat back in his chair and folded his hands on top of his stomach, "I thought you wanted to talk about my knowledge of what has been happening with the Richards', not make personal attacks against me."

Picking up his coffee cup, Chester shrugged. He took a sip and put the cup back down. "Just an observation; no harm intended. Let's talk about how you came into possession of Aurora, Mr. and Mrs. Richards' daughter."

"As I stated previously when I brought her to you, I found her on the road walking alone. Had no clue who she was so I gave her to you," he said, leaning forward against the table again.

"But why were you clear out by their house when your house and work are across town?" the Sheriff asked.

Camp sighed and took a few moments to nurse from his coffee.

_Stalling to think?_Chester thought to himself.

"I do run a wood mill, Chet. Is it a crime to be scouting out the wooded areas for trees?" Matt questioned.

Shaking his head, Chester looked at how bloodshot Matt's eyes were, "Of course not, as long as your intentions are fully good."

Mr. Camp's mouth formed into a thin line, "I pay the property owners for the wood before I even cut it down. You can check my office, I have signed permission from them all."

Sheriff Chester nodded in agreement. _Aggravated easily when hungover, wonder what he's like when he's really drunk._"Let's get back to why we are here. What was your reason for searching online for stuff about Mr. and Mrs. Richards?"

"Not this again," Matt rolled his eyes. "I just like to know who I'm dealing with is all."

"But Matt, you interrogated Mr. Richards' employee. It's one thing to look someone up, but to grill someone else about them is a bit much. Don't you agree?" Chester's foot tapped lightly on the tile floor as he waited for a response.

Matt leaned with his elbows on the table. "They are sketchy people, Chet. Don't come to many town functions. They didn't do a birth announcement on either kid. If anything, I think they are hiding something."

"Like what?"

Lowering his voice slightly, Matt spoke again, "Like they are criminals."

Chuckling, the Sheriff shook his head. "This coming from a man who has a record of his own."

Narrowing his eyes, Matt glared at Chet. "Only thing on my record are a few DUIs. Nothing major like what I think they are hiding," he told him.

"What about what happened when you were seventeen?" Chester threw the big question out there. His goal was to make Matt assume he knew what had happened back then, even though he hadn't been able to find out more since the case files were still sealed.

Sitting back away from the table, Matt crossed his arms almost defiantly over his chest. "No clue what you are referring to," he stated.

Chester stood up, walked over to the door and shut it. "How can anyone forget one hundred and forty days in Jackson County lock up?" he questioned. "I'm surprised they didn't send you to a real penitentiary for what you did."

All the information that Sheriff had was the amount of time he learned from Mr. Richards and the county it happened in from court records; only the defendant's name and county were what the court systems left public.

Matt's eyes had gone from narrowing to wide. "It was a stupid mistake that I paid the price for. Wasn't even me who had done it."

"For something like that, courts normally make sure they have enough evidence to put the right person away," he informed the past criminal.

It was Matt's turn to stand up. He walked to the other side of the room before turning to face Chet. "You have no right looking at those files. They are sealed because I was a minor at the time," he stated, his voice was full of aggravation.

Chester leaned on the table and looked at Matt. "I know people who can pull strings for me when the charges I'm looking to bring are things such as attempted murder on a mother and two young children."

Matt stalked across the room, "Just because they say I conspired to commit murder all those years ago don't mean I did it now."

Quickly, Chester turned around so Matt wouldn't see his shocked expression. _Conspiracy to commit murder! Holy shit,_he thought. "I know you told me that your dad was a mean son of a gun to you growing up. Did you drink heavily at seventeen like you do now?"

With another loud sigh, Camp sat back down. "It's a possibility that I was drunk when I did what I did," he said.

"Then or now?" Chester asked quickly, hoping to catch Matt off guard and say something he didn't intend to say otherwise.

"Has to be then since I didn't do anything now," Matt said loudly.

Chester sat back down too. He clasped his hands on the table. "Listen, Matt, as your friend I want you to know I'm only trying to help you. Is it possible that on some nights you drink so much that you black out and don't know what you're doing?" he used a calm voice.

"No," he stated firmly.

"Are you sure? Because with your criminal past," he didn't get to finish his statement before Matt slammed his open hand on the table.

"You didn't let me finish," Matt yelled.

Sitting very still, Mr. Richards' words swam through Chester's head. "Is that why you are doing this to them? Is it really because Mr. Richards didn't accept your apology?" he asked.

"Am I under arrest or am I free to leave?" Matt angrily asked.

"You're free to leave, but just remember filing a false police report about your truck being stolen is against the law. That charge will be added to the attempted murder along with damaging private property," the Sheriff added as they both stood up.

Matt was already heading toward the door, "I didn't damage anyone's property, Chet."

Stopping near his desk, Chester looked on as Matt reached the door to leave the building. "There's only two people who insist on calling me Chet," he paused. "And my Deputy was home with his wife last night."

After Chester finished his statement, the door was slammed shut with enough force to rattle the windows and tilt the pictures on the walls.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued...<strong>


	36. Chapter 36

**CHAPTER 36:**

* * *

><p>The next two weeks were uneventful when it came to dealing with Matt Camp.<p>

During that time, Marcy and Brent welcomed their twin girls into the world. Jack tried to keep her mind off her own pregnancy by making several days worth of dinners for Marcy and the family; that way Marcy had a few days to rest with the new twins before she got back into being a full time mom and housewife.

With it being a Friday night, Riddick and Jack decided to do a family night with the kids. They had grilled dinner outside and ate it picnic style at the picnic table.

After dinner they went for a walk before coming back to enjoy the warm weather in the back yard.

Rori laid on a blanket in the grass while Kayden laid beside her and read to her from his book.

Cole had busied himself by rolling in the grass; something he seemed to do after he had been given a bath the day before.

Smirking at the scene of Cole and the kids, Riddick reached over and placed his hand on Jack's leg. "Still feeling alright?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, nodding from her spot next to him in her lawn chair. I'm shocked though, because during the previous pregnancies, I seemed to get nauseated on all the good tasting food," she told him quietly.

"You saying my chicken wasn't good?" he smirked at her.

She giggled quietly. "It was very good, that's why I'm surprised I'm not feeling sick. Guess this pregnancy is different," she whispered; they hadn't told anyone about her being pregnant yet, not even Kayden.

"Good," he grinned. "I told you this one was going to be different." His hand lightly squeezed her leg.

Jack sipped on her iced-tea. "Don't jinx it, hun," she told him with a serious tone.

Riddick looked at her and nodded. "I meant it in a good way, Jack," he told her quietly. He watched her nod and he sighed. "Who wants to build a fire and roast some marshmellows," he said loud enough for the kids to hear.

Quickly sitting up on her knees, Rori raised both her hands in the air. "Wowi, dad-dy," she said, using the new name she finally learned.

"You want some?" Riddick questioned, watching her nod. "Well come on then. We need to find small sticks to start it with."

Jack stopped him as he went to stand up. "I think our princess should get her jammies on before we start the fire," she mentioned to Riddick; she knew that it was getting close to Rori's bed time and the little girl would be falling asleep outside.

Riddick looked from Jack to Rori. "You heard your mommy, head inside and get your jammies on," he told her.

With a big smile, Rori stood up. She bent over and tried to pick up the spread out blanket.

"It's okay, Rori. I think brother and daddy will pick the blanket up for us. Maybe we can use that to cover up later when we are cold," Jack said as she stood and held her hand out for Rori to take.

When the girls went inside, Kayden and Riddick did pick up the blanket and shook the grass and stuff off it. "Can I start looking for sticks to start the fire?" Kayden asked, putting his book in the chair his dad had been sitting in.

Riddick nodded, "Go for it. Make sure you leave some out in the open for Rori to find."

Kayden knew that if Rori wasn't able to help out doing things she got very upset and most of the time would end up crying on the floor or ground. "I know. Gotta let her do things too," he said. "I think it was easier when she was a baby, dad."

"Why's that?" Riddick asked while bringing some of the larger wood pieces closer to the fire pit.

"Because when she was a baby, she didn't throw tantrums if she didn't get her way," he said, already picking up twigs and sticks near the woods.

With a chuckle, Riddick nodded, "That's true. Can you imagine if Rori was a twin? I bet our house would be filled with lots of tantrums then."

Kayden shook his head quickly, "Oh no! I don't think I could handle twins. I can barely handle one little sister, let alone two."

Riddick thought about that for a moment, "What would you do or say if your mom and I gave you another little sister or brother?"

Bringing the two large handfuls of smaller sticks to the fire area, Kayden looked at his dad. "Where are we going to put the baby?"

"I didn't mean it like that, I meant would you be happy if you had a few younger siblings like Elaine and Chase does?" Riddick asked him.

Watching his dad arrange the sticks into a tower, Kayden nodded. "I think it would be fun. Lots more entertainment, that's for sure," he said with a smile. "But where are we going to put them?"

Riddick was kneeling next to what he was doing. "We aren't having them yet, Kayden," he mentioned, not wanting to spill the secret that Jack wanted to keep for a while longer.

"Dad," Kayden stated.

"What?" he asked and looked at his son.

"Mom smells like Marcy," he paused. "Well, the way Marcy did smell when she had the twins in her stomach. Do I have to share a room with Rori? Because if I do, I'm going to write a formal complaint and hold a family meeting," Kayden warned his dad.

Riddick laughed. "We will discuss that a bit later," he told him as Jack and Rori came back out.

Rori was in her footie pajamas with her shoes on. Since it was starting to get a little cooler as the sun went down, she already had her sweater on. "Wowi elp, Den!" she announced to her brother.

"You're ready to help? Good, because I need all the help I can get," Kayden told her as he waited for her to get down the porch steps and come to him. "Dad needs lots of starter sticks so we can roast marshmellows."

Licking her lips, she bent over to pick up a couple very small twigs she found. "Her doe, dad-dy!" she went quickly over to give him the twigs.

"Thank you, sweetheart. Help Kayden find some more," Riddick said with a smile as he added her contribution to the fire pit.

When Kayden and Rori were far enough away from them with Cole, Riddick looked at Jack. "You know how we are always saying our kids are super smart?" he asked her.

Jack was sitting in her lawn chair that she brought closer to where they would be at for the next couple of hours. "Yeah," she said.

"Well, Kayden knows you are pregnant," he said quietly.

She turned her head and looked at Kayden who was pointing something out to Rori. She looked back at Riddick, "He does?"

He nodded, "He asked where we were putting the baby. And he made it clear he's not bunking with Rori."

Jack sighed, she liked that her kids were smart and capable of certain things like their dad, but sometimes she wished they weren't as capable and smart as they actually were. "I was hoping he wouldn't notice," she stopped and looked back over to her kids. "At least for a bit longer."

"Worrying over what might or might not happen with this baby isn't going to help you stay healthy, Jack," he stated. "We all have to think positive."

"I'm trying," she said a bit more harshly than she wanted to.

Riddick watched as Jack's silent apology washed over her face. He stood up and walked over to her. Using one finger, he lifted her chin up so she was looking at him. "I know and you are doing a great job at it," he kissed her lips.

When enough sticks were found, Kayden sat in a chair and Rori climbed onto Jack's lap. They all watched quietly as Riddick started the fire for them.

As the fire started to get going, Riddick ran into the house to get the marshmellows.

"I'll get the roasting sticks," Kayden told Jack before he went onto the porch where the metal sticks were hanging.

Rori leaned back against her mommy's chest and stomach. She pointed to the fire as the flames danced, "Hot!"

"That's right, it's very hot," Jack reminded her. "That's why we let daddy roast our marshmellows for us."

Nodding her head, Rori turned when she heard Riddick come back out. "Dad-dy, mash mows?" she asked.

"Yup, I have the marshmellows," he held them up with a grin. "Got a couple small plates and a wet cloth as well."

That made the little girl clap her hands and grin back.

Kayden came with the roasting sticks. He gave one to his mom, one to his dad and kept one for himself.

Jack helped Rori get two marshmellows on their stick. She watched as Rori followed Riddick with her eyes; she was keeping an eye on her treats as he began to roast them.

An hour later, Rori was sound asleep in Jack's arms. Her sticky hands and face had been washed prior to her falling asleep.

Jack listened quietly as Riddick and Kayden talked about different topics.

"When we get to go to the cabin again, can we go fishing to have a fish fry?" Kayden asked with a smile.

Rididck nodded in the glow of the flames, "Sure. Maybe if we can manage it again this year, we can go when the wild mushrooms are in season."

Grinning, Kayden nodded too. "Yeah. And if we get enough, we should bring them home and freeze them," he added.

Jack knew that with Rori now being older than last year, they could go mushroom hunting as a family; it was something they all enjoyed doing together.

"Thanks, Kayden," she teased. "Now I want homemade cream of mushroom soup."

Kayden laughed, "Sorry, mom." He came over to her and kissed her cheek. "Maybe this year we will find enough to fill even the extra freezer in the barn, that way you can make as much soup as you want."

Jack smiled up at him, "That would be wonderful."

Going back to his seat, Kayden looked at his mom. "Do you think this baby will make you want a lot of stuff like Rori and I had?" he asked.

She glanced at Riddick and before she could answer, Riddick spoke. "All pregnancies are different. I'm sure there will be some days when she will want fifteen different things. Other days not so much."

There was a small pause before Jack took over talking. "We aren't telling people about me being pregnant. Okay, son?" she asked him.

Kayden nodded, "Is that in case he or she needs to go be with Grandpa Imam?"

She smiled, "That's right." She looked at Riddick and reached over to take his hand. "But your dad and I think this time will be different," she said, while keeping eye contact with her husband.

Smiling, Kayden looked at them, "Good, because I thought it over. If I have to share a room with Rori, that will be alright."

"It will be?" Riddick asked, wondering what made him change his mind.

He nodded, "Yes, because I will just build a wall in the middle of the room so she can't touch my stuff."

Both Riddick and Jack laughed.

"Let me write a formal complaint about the wall and we can have a family meeting about it," Riddick chuckled some more.

They sat there for a while longer. All three of them enjoyed their time under the stars.

* * *

><p>Almost four hours later, Cole woke Kayden up by pacing the bedroom.<p>

"Lay down, Cole," Kayden told him.

Cole looked at him right before his ears twitched and he moved over to scratch at the door.

"What's wrong?" he asked, slipping out of bed.

Following Cole into the hallway, Kayden glanced towards his parent's room; from the sounds of it everyone was sleeping. Kayden watched Cole disappear down the steps, so he went after him.

"Cole," he whispered. "We have to get dad up."

As soon as Kayden was down the steps, Cole quietly growled at the front door. Kayden looked at the door and jumped a bit when he saw someone walking towards the house. Quickly, he hid behind the recliner and peeked out around it.

Cole began to bark and growl loudly as the person neared the door.

"Dad," Kayden called out, still hiding behind the chair.

"Shut up, you stupid mutt," the man slurred at the loud barking.

Just as Kayden was about to yell for his dad again, a gunshot was heard. Glass from the living room window shattered onto the floor.

A second shot was heard and the other window was broken into a million small shards.

Cole kept barking throughout the ordeal. Kayden was in a tight ball with his head covered by his hands.

Kayden could hear the sound of heavy feet running down the upper hallway. It was mixed with the sounds of his dog barking and loud cussing from the shooter. "Help me," he screamed, as tears started to roll down his cheeks.

* * *

><p>The moment Cole began to bark downstairs, Riddick sat up in bed. His hand reached for his shiv on the bed side table; his fingers wrapped around the handle just as he heard Kayden call for him.<p>

"What's going on?" Jack asked him.

Before he could answer her, the first shot rang through the house. "Son of a bitch," he growled, already heading into the hallway. "Get Rori into our room," Riddick commanded.

When the second shot was fired, Riddick ran down the hallway; he didn't bother looking into Kayden's room, because he could tell from the distance of Kayden's yell the boy was downstairs.

Riddick heard Camp's voice as the drunk bastard hollered at Cole to get away. He looked down the stairs at his son trembling and crying on the floor behind the recliner. Rage flooded his senses causing him to growl, "Oh you mother fucker."

Basically jumping down to the bottom of the steps, Riddick put himself between his son and the asshole who seemed to be trying to get into the house.

Cole continued to bark and snarl, his nails scratching at the wood on the lower portion of the door. His fur was covered in small pieces of glass, but that didn't stop him from trying to protect his family and home.

"Are you okay?" Riddick asked Kayden, trying to keep his anger under control long enough to get his son to safety.

Kayden wrapped his arms around Riddick as soon as his dad talked to him. "I'm scared," he admitted to his dad as more tears trickled down.

Looking over to the door, Riddick could see Camp trying to get in through the window. "I know," he said and picked Kayden up. "I want you to go to my room with your mom and sister." Riddick quickly carried him up the stairs and stood him on the top landing. "Stay put."

"But what about you and Cole?" Kayden asked. He looked past his dad as Cole growled ferociously and Camp let out a blood curdling scream.

Riddick pointed towards the end of the hallway, "We'll be fine, just do as you're told."

Kayden turned and ran down the hall as fast as he could.

When Riddick heard the bedroom door slam shut, he turned and descended the stairs in record time. From the sound of it, Cole was doing his best to keep Matt outside.

Riddick rounded the corner and watched as the dog jumped through the broken window, knocking Camp off balance.

"You picked the wrong family to fuck with," Rididck growled again; the only thing he was thinking about was the strong smell of fear that had been rolling off his son. His vision became hazy as he stalked barefooted through the broken glass.

When he reached the same window Cole had just gone through, he glared at the man stumbling backwards down the steps as the dog lunged to attack him once again.

"Time to do things my way," Riddick stated, stepping through the broken window and out onto the porch.

His grip on his shivs tightened. It was time to end the nonsense.

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Any spacing issues, I blame completely on . It's been driving me nuts the last few weeks!<br>**


	37. Chapter 37

**CHAPTER 37**

* * *

><p>When Riddick heard the bedroom door slam shut, he turned and descended the stairs in record time. From the sound of it, Cole was doing his best to keep Matt outside.<p>

Riddick rounded the corner and watched as the dog jumped through the broken window, knocking Camp off balance.

"You picked the wrong family to fuck with," Riddick growled again; the only thing he was thinking about was the strong smell of fear that had been rolling off his son. His vision became hazy as he stalked barefooted through the broken glass.

When he reached the same window Cole had just gone through, he glared at the man stumbling backwards down the steps as the dog lunged to attack him once again.

"Time to do things my way," Riddick stated, stepping through the broken window and out onto the porch.

His grip on his shivs tightened. It was time to end the nonsense.

Riddick's inner beast hit its cage with enough power to loosen the hinges of the door.

Riddick himself moved forward and watched the gun from Camp's hand be tossed to the side as the man fell to the ground.

The butt of the gun connected with the wooden porch first, causing the gun to go off.

Growling loudly, Riddick used the wrist of his right hand to touch the blood seeping from a hole on his left shoulder.

"Cole," Riddick yelled.

The dog immediately stopped circling the intruder as the person laid on the ground.

"Go find Kayden," he ordered the dog while pointing toward the broken windows.

Backing away from the drunk man, Cole walked up the steps and jumped back into the house.

"Oh, thank God," Matt slurred. "You saved me."

The beast bellowed a demented laugh and began to shake the cage door.

"The danger is just starting, Camp," Riddick's deep voice rumbled over the sound of Camp's heavy breathing. "You could have just walked away, but instead you had to fuck with my wife and kids."

Mr. Camp was trying and failing to get off the ground.

Riddick, on the other hand, was keeping himself calm and steady. "Let's take a walk," he growled, grabbing Camp by the arm.

At the physical contact with the man Riddick wanted to kill, his beast shook the cage door once more. _"Kill, kill, kill,"_it chanted loudly as the metal door dropped forward and crashed to the cement floor.

Gripping Camp's arm tightly, Riddick somewhat dragged him towards the woods. He needed to get the bastard away from the kids and Jack.

"Where we going?" Camp asked, trying to wrench his arm free from Riddick's hold.

"Shut the fuck up," Riddick yelled into his ear, causing the beast's eyes to sparkle as it grinned.

When they reached far enough into the woods, he let go of Matt long enough to place his shiv back into his hand. Raising the shiv, Riddick stabbed it into Camp's upper left shoulder before twisting it and pulling it back out.

"How the fuck does that feel?" Riddick growled, wanting Camp to feel the fear and pain he had caused him and his family.

Camp screamed in pain, grabbed his shoulder and staggered a few feet backwards.

"Should have stayed away," Riddick stated; he and the beast stalked forward, needing to get their hands on the son of a bitch that did everything bad to Riddick's family.

"What, what are you doing?" Camp stuttered as he kept walking backwards in the dark woods.

Riddick's voice was much deeper and darker than normal, "Let me introduce myself to you." His fingers flexed around the shiv handles. "Like you, I've got a criminal history."

He could see Camp's eyes get bigger as he continued to clutch his shoulder. "I was right," Camp said. "You are a criminal."

Taking two large strides, Riddick's head connected roughly with Camp's jaw. "That's my secret and not yours to speak of," he growled.

The beast cracked its knuckles. _"Kill, kill, kill,"_it chanted louder to Riddick.

A small cut on Riddick's head, caused by Matt's tooth, began to run blood down his forehead.

When Riddick refocused on Camp and not on what his beast was doing, he watched as Camp turned and began to stumble away from his attacker.

"No one fucks with Richard B. Riddick's family and gets away with it," the beast roared out loud as he charged after Camp.

* * *

><p>The three gunshots were heard over at Brent and Marcy's house. As Brent went down to call the Sheriff, Marcy gathered all five of their kids into the master bedroom.<p>

Brent told Sheriff Chester what he had heard; he mentioned that Robbie didn't own a gun so hearing gunshots was a huge concern for him.

The Sheriff told him that he and his Deputy would be there as quick as possible.

Knowing the damage Robbie could cause if someone was there hurting his family, Brent ended the call with, "Bring a med team or two."

It wasn't even ten minutes later when Brent heard the sounds of sirens: two Sheriff cars and the med teams in the emergency hospital vans.

"You can't go over there," Marcy pleaded with Brent.

He cupped her face, "I need to help them if I can. I'll be safe, I promise."

It took a bit more convincing before Marcy let him leave. Pulling into the driveway, Brent parked his truck off to the side so it wouldn't be in the way.

When he got out, he saw every light on in the house. The front door was open and the windows on either side of that door were broken out.

The medics were with Jack and the kids at the back of one med van. Brent's heart dropped into his stomach when he didn't see Robbie anywhere.

He went to Jack who was wrapped in a blanket as she held a cranky looking Rori. "Are you three okay?" he asked.

Jack looked up, her eyes were puffy and red from crying. "Physically we are fine, mentally and emotionally not so much," she told him.

"What happened?" Brent questioned while looking Kayden over.

"That jerk tried to kill us and he made Cole hurt his paw from the glass. Now, because of the jerk, we don't know where my dad is," Kayden said loudly; clearly upset.

At the mention of their dad, Rori began to cry again.

Jack rocked her back and forth slowly, "Sh, it's okay. Sheriff Chester and Deputy Thomas are finding daddy right now.

Brent's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "They can't find him? What about Camp?" He just assumed that was the jerk Kayden had been referring to.

As she tried to hold back her own tears, Jack answered him, "After Kayden came upstairs to me, there was a third gunshot." She paused and took in a deep breath. "Then Cole came upstairs with us and now he's with the Sheriff looking for," she stopped as she heard the medic's walkie talkie go off.

* * *

><p>Even with his hurt paw, Cole had led the Sheriff and Deputy right to his owner.<p>

Deep in the Northern woods, the scene through the beams of the flash lights was a dreary one. There was blood on tree trunks, leaves and shrubs.

Standing with his back propped against a tall oak tree, Riddick still had his shivs in his hands.

Camp didn't seem to be so lucky. Laying face down on the ground, with his arm twisted awkwardly, his shirt was covered in cuts and blood.

Both the Sheriff and the Deputy watched, with guns drawn, as Cole limped up to his owner and sat down next to him; it was as if the dog was waiting for his owner to acknowledge him.

"Mr. Richards, I'm going to have to ask you to put the knives down," Sheriff Chester said.

"Shivs," Riddick responded; his voice sounded very weak. "They are shivs and I'm not putting shit down as long as he's still on my property." He motioned to Camp with one of the shivs. "Might want to get some medics here for him if you want him to live much longer."

From what Sheriff Chester could see when Riddick turned towards him, Riddick was covered in blood. Although, he couldn't tell how much of the blood belonged to which man.

The Deputy kept his gun trained on Riddick as he walked sideways to check Camp's pulse. "It's real faint, but he's still hanging in there," he told Chester.

"Radio it in," Chester said to Thomas; his eyes not leaving Riddick's face. Chester holstered his gun and gestured at the shivs. "If you are going to see your family, you might want to put those things away. Don't want to scare the little one," he spoke calmly to Riddick.

The beast had been out for a long time, much longer than it had been since he got his Jack back from Imam. It was now pacing its cage that Riddick had fixed the door on. "My family?" Riddick questioned, he felt a little dazed. "My family has seen me with these."

Chester smiled in the dark, "I'm sure they have. Why don't you, me, and Cole walk back to your family and get you looked at by the medic team?"

"Medic team, we found both men. They are somewhat deep in the Northern woods," the Deputy's voice came through the quietness.

"Roger that, Deputy Thomas. Go on," the female medic responded.

The walkie cracked again. "We've got a very bad gunshot wound on one male and the other male has major life threatening injuries. We are going to need a back board for both," he said.

"I can walk," Riddick growled at the Deputy and then pressed his hand against his wound. "Maybe I should have this looked at."

"Make that only one back board," he corrected himself.

"On our way to the North woods. We will need further directions to get to your position from there," the medic said.

The Sheriff nodded at Riddick. "Mr. Richards, you agreed to come back to your family with me. They are worried sick about you," Chester said, even though he hadn't agreed to go with him. He knew that the man needed some medical attention and soon.

Riddick looked down at Cole and began to slowly walk in the direction that would take them to the house. "My Jack's pregnant again. Can't let her be stressed out," he mumbled quietly as he passed the Sheriff.

Cole was doing his best to keep up with his owner.

By the time they got to house and around front where everyone was gathered, Riddick was walking very slowly, his speech was slightly slurred, and his response time was getting slower.

"Riddick!" Jack screamed as she stood up from the lowered tailgate of Brent's truck.

Brent stayed by the back of the truck and grabbed Rori as the little girl tried to run off the end of the truck to get to her daddy.

When Jack reached Riddick, he gave her a small smile.

Jack's eyes got big seeing the wound on his shoulder. "Why wasn't he carried out of the woods?" she demanded to know as she yelled at one of the medics and the Sheriff.

Slowly shaking his head, Riddick looked at Jack. "I'm fine," he said softly. "I just need a few stitches."

Reaching up, she touched his which was cool and clammy to the touch. "You're so cold, baby," she told him as her eyes became blurry with tears.

He gave her another small smile. "Just a chilly night is all," Riddick told her. "Everything is going to be alright now. Camp can't hurt you and the kids. So don't worry, okay?"

"Riddick," she whispered when he removed her hand from his face and gave her the shivs he had. There was something different about his eyes, the look was one she had never seen with him before.

"Just don't stress, please," he said before he turned towards the medic. "Didn't you hear my wife?" he said a bit louder to the female medic. "I need medical attention."

The medic pointed at the stretcher that was waiting for him behind the medic van.

As Riddick stepped forward, he reached for the stretcher and as his hand grasped the railing his legs gave out. Before he even hit the ground, he was unconscious.

* * *

><p>"How long does it take to get a bullet out and stitch someone up?" Kayden asked his mom as they sat in the waiting room of the hospital.<p>

Jack had a sleeping Rori on her lap as she peeled the label off a water bottle. "I don't know, Kayden," she told him honestly. She tried to keep her emotions in check for her children, but the closer they got to morning, the more her nerves were wearing thin.

"It depends on what kind of damage the bullet does," Brent answered the young boy. "I'm sure your dad is in there giving them hell about something though, so that's probably why it's taking so long."

Kayden put the last cookie from the vending machine into his mouth and shrugged. "With Dad having the bloodline that he does, shouldn't he be better than Mr. Camp?" he questioned.

"Mr. Camp wasn't shot in the left shoulder though, son," Jack said, her patience with the topic getting scarce.

He looked at his mom, "But the Sheriff said Dad stabbed him in the same shoulder as Dad was shot."

"Kayden," Jack warned before pausing. She swallowed and licked her lips. "I know you are worried about your Dad. We all are, but can we please talk about something other than what your Dad did to that man?"

Nodding, Kayden opened his pop that Deputy Thomas had bought for him.

The waiting room was quiet until an automated voice over the loud speaker spoke. "Code Red: OR 2. Code Red: OR 2."

Brent and Jack looked at each other while Kayden watched a couple staff members run down the hallway in the direction he knew his dad and Mr. Camp was.

Jack couldn't hold it back anymore. She put her free shaky hand over her eyes and broke down crying.

Standing from his own chair, Brent went over to Jack and carefully pulled her upper body towards his stomach. "It's not him, Jack. Don't you think like that," he whispered to her.

Kayden went to his mom too and got in on the hug. He leaned his head against hers and whispered that everything was going to be alright.

About twenty minutes later the main surgeon came into the waiting room.

Jack had moved Rori to a blanket on the floor, so she was free to stand up as soon as she saw the doctor. "How is he?" she asked quickly. "When can I see him?"

The doctor, who looked just as tired as the rest of them shook his head, "I'm sorry..."

* * *

><p><strong>The End...Epilogue To Follow <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: As I said with the last update, if there are any spacing issues I blame this darn website. It's still driving me nuts. I should have the Epilogue up in a week, hopefully less!<br>**


	38. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE:**

* * *

><p>"I miss Daddy," Rori said as she helped Jack plant flowers in the wooden boxes by the front steps.<p>

Sitting back on her knees, Jack looked at her three and a half year old. "I know, Sweetheart. We all miss him," she reassured the little girl. "But remember, he would want you to have fun and smile." That was something she seemed to tell her daughter often.

Kayden, who was now eleven, came running out of the woods near the newly finished room addition on the house. "Mom, guess what happened over at Brent and Marcy's," he said, a little out of breath.

Jack smiled up at him, "What?"

"Did the baby ducks come out of their eggs?" Rori asked as she stood up, excited about possibly seeing the babies.

Putting his hands on his hips like his mom, he tilted his head and looked at his sister. "Out of everything you could have guessed, how did you guess that?" he asked her.

Rori grinned at him, "Don't you remember, brother? Marcy said the eggs were gonna break soon."

He smiled back and nodded. "Oh, that's right," he stated. "Do you want to come see them, Mom?"

Taking off her gardening gloves, Jack looked up at the playpen on the porch. "I would but it's still nap time. Maybe once it's over we can all head next door and see the ducklings," Jack told him.

"Can I go now, Mommy?" Rori asked and stuck out her bottom lip. "I promise to be good."

Jack smiled at her, "And you promise to listen to Kayden?" She was willing to let Rori go if it got the little girl's mind off missing Riddick.

Rori nodded her head as she was already running towards the woods.

"Don't touch the ducklings," Jack told the kids quickly and watched them disappear into the woods.

With a sigh, she wiped her forehead with her sleeve. "Sure is hot out today, guys," she mentioned to the two dogs who were laying in the shade of the porch.

Cole, whose gray fur showed his old age, lifted his head when she spoke to them. His tail thumped once on the wooden porch before laying his head back down.

The much younger male pup, that the kids named Jazz, stood up and bounded down the steps to see his owner.

"You remind me so much of Cole when he was a puppy," she told Jazz, scratching him under his chin. "Always willing to get petted by anyone who was willing."

From the playpen came some soft babbles. Jack looked up just in time to see Alexander pull himself up and stand looking out over the edge of it. "Mama, ow," he said softly while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"You don't have to get out the first second you wake up, Xander," she whispered with a smile as she walked up the steps and along the porch to get him.

Picking him up, she sat down on the newest wooden bench that Kayden had helped build soon after the renovations to the house were completed. "Do you feel like a big boy since it's your first birthday today?" Jack asked quietly.

Alexander laid his head on her shoulder, but didn't respond.

"We get to have yummy cake and ice cream," she smiled as she ran her hand up and down his back slowly.

Looking out towards their fields that had given them record numbers of fruit that season, Jack thought back to the day her life changed twenty one months ago.

_After she laid Rori on a blanket on the floor, Jack paced the room. As soon as the doctor entered the waiting room, Jack went to him. "How is he?" she asked quickly. "When can I see him?" Her voice was shaky with emotion and her hands protectively laid on her still flat stomach._

_The doctor, who looked just as tired as the rest of them, shook his head, "I'm sorry..."_

_Jack's eyes got wide at his words. Taking a step away from him, she slowly shook her head. "Wh...What do you mean, you're sorry?" she asked, her own hand covered her mouth as she tried to keep down the water she had just drank._

_"We lost him a couple of times while we were operating on him, Mrs. Richards," he stated. "The bullet had grazed his heart, and by the time he was brought to us, he had lost a lot of blood."_

_"Just tell me he's okay," she demanded._

_Nodding, the doctor continued, "He's stable, but with us not having his blood type on hand, I can't promise he's going to make it through the day."_

_That was all that Jack could stand to hear before she bolted towards the trash can and did what she had been trying not to._

_Brent seemed to be dumbfounded with what he had just heard. Kayden on the other hand was shaking his head._

_"Don't you say that. My Dad is a fighter," Kayden said, pointing his finger angrily at the doctor. "You'll see. My Dad's going to be just fine." The tears started down his face again._

_Going to her son, Jack gave him a huge hug._

Jack snapped out of her memory as she felt her own tears start to form in her eyes. "Your Daddy would have loved to be here today to help celebrate your birthday," she told Xander. "I bet you would have gotten him so messy, just like Kayden and Rori did on their first birthdays."

Off in the distance she heard Rori and Kayden coming back through the woods. Standing up, she carried Xander along the porch and down the steps. "Who's coming to see us?" she asked him when she stood him on the ground.

Xander stood by his mommy and looked towards the woods where the voices and laughs were coming from.

Jazz and Cole both came down the steps too. Cole sat down near Jack while the young pup darted off to greet his younger owners.

"Mommy," Rori called out as they came out of the woods. "Marcy says Brent is comin' home soon."

Putting her finger to her lip, Jack quietly reminded her daughter that they needed to continue to be quiet for a while. "I bet they are super excited over there," she replied quietly.

"And if Brent is coming home, do you know what that means?" Kayden asked them with a smile.

"Party time," Rori said with a giggle and clapped her hands.

Xander grinned at his big sister for a moment before he clapped his hands.

Jack smiled too, "We are all so excited for the party. We still have a little bit before we can start to set up for it." She pointed back to the flowers that still needed to be planted, "Would you two like to fill the buckets so we can water our new flowers?"

"If that will help you out mom, then yes we will fill them for you," Kayden said. "Can Alexander help us?"

Nodding, Jack looked down at her little one as he hugged Cole's neck. "If he wants to, he can. But be careful he doesn't wander off," she reminded Kayden.

"Come on," Rori said to Xander and took his hand. "You can carry the baby bucket."

Xander was eager to go for a short walk with his siblings, "Bye bye, Mama!" he waved to her.

"Bye bye, Xander," Jack waved back to him. She watched them walk around the house and listened as Kayden talked to the younger kids.

"If we help out a lot, hopefully we can get to the cake and ice cream faster," he told them.

When she couldn't see her kids anymore, Jack looked up to the sky. "You've seemed to help us out in the past when we've needed it, Imam. Please help us have a happy first birthday party. I just want my kids to remember this day as one with lots of smiles."

_"So he's still alive?" Jack asked the Sheriff as she continued to sit next to Riddick's hospital bed and hold his hand._

_With a sigh, Sheriff Chester nodded._

_Jack shook her head and reached her hand up to gently caress her husband's cheek as he laid unconscious. "I guess you didn't want him dead, did you, baby?" she whispered to Riddick._

_"What makes you think he didn't want to actually kill Mr. Camp?" Chester asked, leaning against the wall._

_Lifting her head, Jack narrowed her eyes at him. "If my husband wanted Camp dead, Camp would be downstairs in the cooler," she looked back to Riddick. "What were his injuries?"_

_The Sheriff took in a deep breath before he listed everything, "He had a deep stab wound to his left shoulder."_

_Jack's eyes scanned across Riddick's body and stopped at the bandage on his left shoulder._

_"Camp also had a sprained neck, broken elbow, small but deep cuts on his back," Chester tilted his head as if thinking about the injury he was about to say. "He also had a large gash to the bottom of his foot."_

_"Pay back's always a bitch, Sheriff Chester," Jack said, not taking her eyes off Riddick's face._

_Chester shifted, "You think your husband did the injuries as a simple pay back even though he basically told me he would take Camp out if I didn't do anything about him?"  
><em>  
><em>Nodding, she finally looked at him again. "You're a smart man; think about how each of the injuries Camp sustained correlate to the injuries my family and I have received due to Camp," Jack stated; her voice cold and steady.<em>

_He stood there silently as he thought. Every injury, including Cole's paw being cut by the broken glass, were things that happened tonight to Camp._

J_ack watched as the imaginary light bulb flickered on over the Sheriff's head. "Every scar he got tonight will forever remind him that he shouldn't mess with a man's family," she looked back to Riddick. "And from what I've been told, sometimes slam is worse than death, Sheriff."_

Jack had only a few flowers left to plant in the ground. She sat back and looked at her work as she listened to the distant giggles from her kids.

She had been in the courtroom a few towns over when Matt Camp, Sr. was sentenced to ninety-eight years in slam. Jack knew that Riddick had done the right thing by forcing Camp to suffer for the rest of his life; after all, Camp had made their family suffer more than they deserved.

It had been a few months after Camp was sentenced that Mrs. Camp showed up on Jack's porch. The woman said she had been wanting to come over and apologize for her now ex-husband's actions, but she knew she no longer needed to apologize for the monster. Instead, she thanked Jack for helping to get her husband put away for all the horrible deeds he had done, not just to the Richards', but also to Mrs. Camp and her son.

As of late, the rumor around town was that the man who took over Camp's Wood Mill swept Mrs. Camp off her feet. From what Jack witnessed during the school's parent night, Matt, the once troubled child, had a decent man in his life to pay attention to him and treat him how all children should be treated: with love.

Jack quickly wiped the few tears off her cheeks as the kids came back around with the buckets. Kayden and Rori had taken off their shoes so they could get their feet wet. Alexander, who hadn't been wearing shoes, had a huge grin on his face as he helped his big brother carry the large heavy bucket.

"Our feet were dirty, Mommy," Rori told Jack with a grin. As she set her small bucket down next to the new flowers, she frowned. "Why are you crying?"

Jack smiled, "I was just listening to you three laughing and was thinking about how I wish your Dad was here to hear it."

Carefully, Kayden put the bucket down and went to give his mom a hug. "Don't be sad, Mom. I'm sure Grandpa Imam is helping Dad hear us," he tried to reassure her.

She hugged him back, "Thank you, Kayden. You know me, I just sometimes need to have a little cry to make myself feel better."

Kayden kissed the top of her head, like she still did to him, "I know. Now come on, no frowns. Dad wouldn't want us to be sad today. After all we have a party to set up and have." 

* * *

><p>Three hours later the backyard was filled with lots of laughter from Brent and Marcy's five children along with Jack's kids.<p>

"I really need your recipe for that noodle salad," Marcy told Jack, since all five of her kids wanted extra helpings of it.

Jack nodded. "Sure thing," she said before looking over to Elaine and Chase as they helped each of the younger kids get ready for their turn to hit the dinosaur pinata.

"Hey," Marcy said quietly, reaching across the table to hold Jack's hand. "How you holding up?"

Shrugging, Jack sighed. She looked down at her wedding ring before answering Marcy's question. "I'm okay. Some days I feel better than others," she bit her lip. "I try hard not to break down in front of the kids, but today I got thinking about things and they saw me."

"They are smart kids, Jack. They have to know it's hard for you right now, but if you don't let the emotions out, it will eat you alive," Marcy told her friend.

"I know," she sighed. "Come on, let's go help the kids get the candy out of that ugly dino." She wanted to keep her mind off Riddick not being there.

It was a short time later that Jack sat on the picnic table with her lap filled. "Ask Brent to hurry lighting the candle," she told her youngest.

Cole and Jazz got up from where they had been sleeping in the grass. Both started to bark as they headed to the front of the house.

"You expecting anyone else?" Brent asked, as he shut his lighter off before he was able to light the candle shaped like the number one.

Jack shook her head, "No, I didn't invite anyone other than you guys."

Brent nodded, "Wait here and I'll see who it is." He quickly followed the dogs.

"Aww, we don't get cake yet?" Aurora asked from her spot at the table.

Marcy laughed, "Don't pout. We will get cake as soon as Brent comes back."

Nodding, Jack smiled at her little girl, "Remember our talk about being patient? Well, now is a time we have to practice being that way."

Just as Jack was going to ask Kayden to pass out the empty plates and spoons to everyone, Rori jumped up from her seat.

"Daddy," Rori screamed loudly as she ran around the picnic table towards where Brent and Riddick were coming to the back yard.

Kayden's head turned quickly and he grinned. "I knew he would make it," he said quietly as he too stood up.

Jack put Xander on the ground and let him walk to his daddy. With her arms still full, she stood and smiled at her husband. "Thought you wouldn't make it back because of engine problems?"

"You have no idea who I had to bribe to get here, Jack," he grinned and squatted down to hug his two kids that greeted him.

Jack and Kayden walked over to him as well. She could already feel herself become happier just watching him hug their kids.

Riddick hugged Kayden before pulling Jack in for a kiss. "And like I would miss a birthday party," he told her with a wink. He took Michael from her and gave him a big hug too.

Kayden and Rori helped Alexander go back to the picnic table.

"We missed you, Riddick," Jack whispered as they walked back to where Brent was about to light the candle. "You have no idea how much we all missed you."

Michael clung to his daddy, something he did every time Riddick came home from being gone.

"I know, baby. I'm sure it was just as much as I missed you guys," he told her. "But I'll always come home to the family," he kissed her lips. "No matter what, I'll come home to you."

_Riddick could hear her while she spoke to him as he laid motionless in the bed. He tried to concentrate on Jack's breathing, her heart beat, but the sound of his own heart monitor was distracting._  
><em><br>"Riddick," Jack whispered to him. Her hand rested over his heart. "You are my Furyan King, baby. You are strong and can fight this."_

_Her cheek felt wet with tears as she pressed her cheek to his._

_"I can't do this alone, baby. I need you to wake up, to come home to us," she whispered into his ear._

I'm trying, Jack, _he thought. He had never felt this tired before in his life._

_As he laid there, a memory from his past floated through his head:_

"Because you do not believe in God does not mean God does not believe in..." Imam was cut off.

Riddick responded quickly, "Think someone could spend half their life in a slam with a horse bit in their mouth and not believe? Think he could start out in some liquor store trash bin with an umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and not believe?"

_"Got it all wrong, holy man," Riddick mumbled softly. "I absolutely believe in God..."_

_"Riddick?" Jack jumped up from her chair and caressed his cheek for the millionth time._

_"I wanna go home, Jack," his voice was soft and raspy._

"Candle is lit," Kayden announced.

Jack and Riddick helped their twins stand on the bench. As one, everyone began to sing happy birthday to the birthday boys.

When Jack and Riddick blew out the candle together, Jack smiled. "What did you wish for?" she asked her husband.

"I wished for this to be only the beginning of more first birthdays to come," he told her, placing his hand on her growing stomach.

* * *

><p><strong>THE END! <strong>

**Thank you all for reading and double thank you for all those that reviewed for me! A special thanks goes to my beta, because without her my stories would be lost! If and when I write another story I hope to see you all follow me on that wild ride too! Thank you again.  
><strong>


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